A contract has been signed with Qatar Petroleum, the state-owned company responsible for every aspect of the country?s oil and gas industry. The project, which will run for a period of three years, concerns protective coating maintenance and fire proofing on a gas drilling platform in the Persian Gulf, is worth around US$ 7 million and reaffirms Peiniger International?s foremost position in this market.

The drilling platform is in the North Field Alpha where Qatar Petroleum produces condensate and gas. In fact, North Field is the largest single non-associated gas field in the world. Its resources are estimated at around 250 million cubic meters.

Qatar aims to become the world?s top LNG exporter by 2011 and is targeting around 60 million tonnes annually, around double the present capacity.