French engineering firm Technip has been awarded an engineering and services contract for China National Offshore Oil Corp.'s (CNOOC) deepwater Panyu gas project in the South China Sea, Technip announced on Monday.

The €200 million ($259 million) contract will see Technip head a 55/45 partnership with Offshore Oil Engineering Co. Ltd. (COOEC), a publicly listed subsidiary of CNOOC.

A spokesperson for Technip told Interfax on Monday that the contract covers the Panyu 34-1, 35-1 and 35-2 deepwater gas fields, which lie roughly 250 kilometers (km) southeast of Hong Kong.

The pair will be tasked with installing a new subsea production system and associated components for six wells at the Panyu 34-1, 35-1 and 35-2 complex, as well as 47 km of pipeline to connect the three fields.

The undersea production system will be supplied by U.S. engineering firm Cameron, the spokesperson confirmed. Cameron sealed a separate $100 million contract with CNOOC in June, with deliveries set to begin in 2013.

"Offshore installation is scheduled to be completed in two phases during the third quarter of 2013 and the second quarter of 2014," the announcement indicated.  Deep Orient, one of Technip's deepwater construction vessels, will carry out the work, along with COOEC's HYSY 201 pipelaying vessel.

The Panyu 34-1, 35-1, and 35-2 complex will be linked to a central platform at 34-1, which is currently under construction by COOEC.

The platform at Panyu 34-1 is set to be connected via a 31 km pipeline to a platform being built at the Liwan 3-1 gas field, being developed by CNOOC and Canada's Husky Energy Inc.

Gas from the Liwan 3-1 central platform will subsequently be piped to the onshore Gaolan gas terminal in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, for processing and onwards distribution. Technip is also constructing the 260 km link, and work is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2012.

Once completed, output from the Panyu 34-1, 35-1, and 35-2 complex will join the Panyu 30-1 field, which is already producing and along with the nearby Huizhou 21-1 field, currently feeding the Gaolan terminal. The terminal is capable of processing 1.6 billion cubic meters per year, and primarily feeds the cities of Zhuhai and Zhongshan in Guangdong, as well as the special administrative region of Macao.

First gas from the new Panyu fields is currently scheduled for 2014, shortly after the anticipated startup of Liwan.