SNC-Lavalin wins $1.1B US contract from Algeria's Sonatrach

SNC-Lavalin has been awarded a $1.1-billion US contract to build a natural gas processing facility for Algeria's national oil company, the Montreal-based engineering firm confirmed Monday.

The contract awarded by Sonatrach spans 39 months. SNC-Lavalin said it would unveil details on Tuesday.

Algeria's energy minister said Monday that the company will build gas collection infrastructure at four southern fields, a natural gas processing facility at Qartzites de Hamra and a processing facility to re-inject carbon dioxides into gas fields.

The natural gas will flow to the Arzew liquefied natural gas processing facility being built near Oran, allowing Sonatrach to increase exports, Energy Minister Chakib Khelil said, according to a report by Algeria's APS news agency.

Canaccord Adams analyst Yuri Lynk described the contract as positive for SNC-Lavalin and said it could add about 15 cents of earnings per share in 2010 and 15 per cent to the company's backlog.

The company has been working in the north African country for more than 40 years, and built the famed Martyr's Tower in Algiers.

Shares of SNC-Lavalin closed down $1.28 to $42.26 on the Toronto stock exchange.