JGC/KBR, a 50/50 joint venture between JGC Corporation of Yokohama, Japan, and Kellogg Brown & Root, a business unit of Halliburton Company, have signed a contract for the engineering, procurement and construction of the In Salah gas facilities, infrastructure and gathering systems in southern Algeria for BP/Sonatrach. The In Salah Gas development will require an investment of approximately USD 1.7 billion for the first phase and will include the development of three gas fields, which lie between El Golea and In Salah, a distance of some 350km. Work on the first phase will involve wells and well sites, a gathering system and gas processing facilities including CO2 removal, a compression station and metering systems, and other infrastructure such as roads, airfields, accommodations and offices. The gas development is located in a remote desert area and a 48-inch export pipeline, to be built by others, will stretch some 500km to existing facilities at Hassi R’ Mel. The first phase of this project is set to deliver nine billion cubic metres of gas to southern Europe. Total project duration up to “first gas” is about 3 years.