Petrofac loses out on $10bn in contracts amid SFO probe

A Serious Fraud Office investigation into Petrofac has made the company lose out on $10bn (£7.8bn) of contracts, its chief financial officer said today. 

Alastair Cochran said that a guilty please from its former head of sales, David Lufkin, came just as Petrofac was bidding for contracts. 

The oilfield servicer lost about $2bn to $3bn worth of Saudi Arabian and Iraqi orders in the first half. 

Meanwhile, around $10bn in deals were not considered by its clients, Cochran said in a call with analysts. 

“The timing of those bids coincided with the SFO’s announcement… that inevitably … raised concerns amongst all stakeholders,” Cochran.

The company has lost around half of its share value since the investigation was launched in 2017. 

Shares fell a further 6.2 per cent yesterday to 406.8p. Lufkin pleaded guilty to 11 counts of bribery related to oil deals in Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Khawar Qureshi QC, an expert in international arbitration, said simply being investigated can damage businesses.

“In the commercial world, the risk of competitors using this for business advantage is not insignificant.”

Source: Cityam.com

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