Technip-Coflexip: New Contract Award for the Design and Construction of a Steamcracker in Iran.

Business Editors

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 20, 2003

Technip-Coflexip (NYSE:TKP) (Euronext:13170) and its Iranian partner Nargan have been awarded, by Petrochemical Industries Development Management Company -- an affiliate of the National Petrochemical Company of Iran (NPC) -- a contract for the design and construction of a steamcracker to be built on Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf.

The contract, worth about 173 million euros, was signed in Tehran on March 18, 2003.

This steamcracker will produce 500,000 tons per year of ethylene from ethane feedstocks supplied by a nearby associated gas treatment plant.

Under the terms of the contract, Technip-Coflexip will provide its in-house ethylene technology and proprietary furnaces and will carry out basic and detail engineering, supply of equipment and materials as well as supervision of construction and commissioning. The relevant engineering and procurement services will be mostly executed and managed from Technip-Coflexip's offices in Paris and The Hague.

The Iranian engineering company Nargan -- in which Technip-Coflexip holds a stake of 20% -- will perform the engineering and procurement related to equipment and materials of local origin.

The project will be financed through a multi-source export credit facilities scheme, which is expected to be finalized in the coming months.

The delivery of the last equipment item will take place 27 months after the coming into force of the contract.

This new project reinforces Technip-Coflexip's position as a world leader in large capacity steamcrackers and associated technologies, following the awards by NPC and the coming into force of the contracts for the world's largest ethylene plant (1.4 million-ton-per-year) of the 10th Complex and a one million-ton-a-year ethylene plant for the 9th Complex, at Assaluyeh in Iran.

With a workforce of about 19,000, Technip-Coflexip ranks among the top five in the field of oil, gas and petrochemical engineering, construction and services. Headquartered in Paris, the Group is listed in New York (NYSE:TKP) and in Paris (Euronext:13170). The main engineering and business centers of Technip-Coflexip are located in France, Italy, Germany, the UK, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, the United States, Brazil, Abu-Dhabi, China, India, Malaysia and Australia. The Group has high-quality industrial and construction facilities in France, Brazil, the UK, the USA, and Finland as well as a world-class fleet of offshore construction vessels.

Statements in this news release other than historical financial information are forward-looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially depending on factors such as capital expenditures in the oil and gas industry, the timing of development of offshore energy resources, materialization of construction risks, the strength of competition, interest rate movements and stability in developing countries.