Petrofac Suspended from New Contract Bids in UAE

Petrofac said on Monday it was barred from competing for new contracts in the United Arab Emirates, months after a former executive of the oilfield services provider pleaded guilty in Britain over bribery charges.

London-listed Petrofac shares fell as much as 12% to hit session lows after the company said UAE's state-backed oil firm, ADNOC, had notified it of the decision. The GCC country accounted for roughly 10% of its contract revenue in 2019.

In January, the former executive pleaded guilty to three bribery charges brought by Britain's Serious Fraud Office over payments made to agents to influence awarding of contracts worth US$3.3 billion in the UAE.

The former executive pleaded guilty to 11 other counts in 2019 related to bribery charges in Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Petrofac does not currently include the two countries in its bidding pipeline.

Petrofac said on Monday it would continue to work on two small UAE projects, but did not provide any other details related to the suspension. It had previously said that the country accounts for just under a third of its bidding pipeline.