INTERNATIONAL project management and services company Amec has won a contract to manage up to £2.75bn of oilfield projects in Kuwait over the next five years

The Middle East deal could be worth up to £300m to Amec, which has an option to extend the contract by two years.

It is the first time that a non-US company has secured the contract with the Kuwait Oil Company, which was previously held by Parson and Bechtel.

Amec said the deal confirmed its position as a major project manager in the region.

The contract covers project management of the Kuwait Oil Company's upstream oil assets in the south of the country.

The work will be carried out by Amec's oil and gas division, which was recently created to provide energy sector customers with a central support service.

Amec's Darlington operations will be involved in some of the project work, a company spokesman confirmed.

Amec's team of between 70 and 80 people based in the UK and up to 160 in the Gulf state will project manage the oil company's activity in the south of Kuwait, where it is seeking to develop existing oilfields using enhanced recovery techniques.

Working with Kuwaiti personnel, Amec will assess the fields and how to improve their performance, and will budget and prepare contracts for Kuwait Oil Company to award, overseeing all engineering and related activity.

It will include engineering design, assessment of tenders, project management, construction management, contract administration, consultancy on environmental issues and risk management and staff training.

The contract covers not only oilfields and related assets, but also the infrastructure the Kuwait Oil Company needs to support its 5,000 staff in the region.

Neil Bruce, managing director of Amec's oil and gas division, said: "We are delighted to be working with Kuwait Oil Company on this long-term asset management programme.

"Our integrated skills in the global energy sector, extending from the Gulf of Mexico to the Russian Far East, and our downstream experience in the Middle East will enable us to deliver excellent local service in this strategically important region."