The $68 million ACE project involves the complete upgrade of control facilities at Santos' large Moomba gas processing facility, located in the remote far north of South Australia.

"The award of this important contract demonstrates our capability in delivering total project solutions," said managing director of Aker Kvaerner's engineering and construction operations in Australia, Les Guthrie.

"We have worked with Santos and Emerson to develop the scope, costs and methodologies necessary to execute ACE, made complex by the large number of smaller sub-projects within it, to be completed across the whole Moomba facility."

Completion is planned for December 2004.