UK oilfield services company Petrofac suspended from new ADNOC contract bids

London — Petrofac has been suspended by Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. from bidding on its projects "until further notice," a move stemming from January guilty pleas to bribery charges by the UK oilfield services company's former head of sales, it said March 15.

Petrofac said it would continue engineering, procurement and construction work on two ADNOC projects currently underway.

According to its website, Petrofac has a $3.7 billion contract for the development of the offshore Upper Zakum Field.

In April, ADNOC terminated two contracts awarded to the Petrofac Emirates joint venture for the Dalma Gas Development Project, with Petrofac saying at the time it was working with ADNOC to "explore alternative options to deliver this project."

Former executive David Lufkin pleaded guilty in a UK court to three charges of bribery for offering and making $30 million in payments to influence the awarding in 2013 to Petrofac of an engineering, procurement and construction contract for the Upper Zakum project, a variation to that contract awarded in 2014 and a front-end engineering design contract in 2014 on the Bab Integrated Facilities Project, according to the UK Serious Fraud Office. The contracts are worth a total $3.3 billion, the SFO said in January.

In 2019, Lufkin had pleaded guilty to another 11 charges of bribery related to projects in Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

"ADNOC has stated that it recognizes the long-standing nature of its relationship with Petrofac and has confirmed that its decision will be reviewed on a periodic basis," Petrofac said in a statement.

ADNOC did not have immediate comment on the suspension.