Galfar Engineering, the Omani contractor, has been awarded a $299.21 million construction contract by the Sultanate’s top oil and gas producer, it has announced.

The contractor will build a new central processing facility at Petroleum Development Oman’s (PDO) Yibal Khuff project, which is south west of Muscat, according to a bourse statement.

The contract duration is for 51 months and will include civil, mechanical, electrical and instrumentation works.

“We expect reasonable income from this project,” Gulfar added in the statement.

PDO is 60% owned by the Omani government, with 34% owned by Royal Dutch Shell, 4% by Total and 2% by Partex, the Portuguese oil and gas company.

Last year, the contractor posted a net loss of $74.93 million, on the back of a large provision for receivables. During the year, the contractor’s parent company provided $82.9 million towards the impairment of receivables.

A major portion of these provisions is for the Muscat Expressway and Central Corridor projects, the Muscat Daily, a local paper, said.

In a director’s report submitted to the Muscat Stock Market, Gulfar said that it had a confirmed order book of more than $1.6 billion at the end of 2015. Revenues for 2016 are expected to be more than 2015 levels, despite the challenging market environment.

It added that it had initiated a transformation programme that would allow it to achieve sustainable improvements in performance and operational efficiencies.

“Galfar’s board is fully committed to the rigorous implementation of the transformation programme over the next 12-18 months, with tangible results expected in the second quarter of 2016 and better operating results in financial year 2016,” the report added.