AN engineering services company has secured contracts in the chemicals sector worth more than £100m, The Northern Echo has learned.

Amec, which employs 400 people in industrial and support services in Darlington, has won a five-year management contract with chemical group Innovene for overhauls at its Grangemouth plant, in Scotland, and another four-year contract with Huntsman Chemicals, on Teesside.

The contract wins helped boost Amec's interim results yesterday, which revealed pre-tax profits increased by 7.1 per cent to £40.9m in the six months to June 30. Its order book was also strong, increasing 20 per cent to £2.9bn.

The company's share of work in Iraq this year stands at about £200m - an increase on last year's contract wins there.

Amec has been carrying out infrastructure services contracts in the country.

Amec said it expected further increases in work there next year, but any further contracts depended on the security situation.

The company revealed last month that it was planning to bid to be project manager on the £1.7bn Olympic Games contract, in a move that would involve all its UK operations.

The industrial division in Darlington recently won a £22m contract with National Grid Transco to work on a project replacing overhead powerlines and also a £25m deal with Shell to produce a gas storage facility for a North Sea pipeline.

Its latest deal with Huntsman Chemicals will be to overhaul several of the company's plants on Teesside - planning, preparing and managing the projects.

Steve Lee, managing director of Amec's industrial business in Darlington, said: "Plant overhauls in the chemical industry are undertaken regularly to ensure safe and efficient operation of the asset.

"They demand the very best planning and project management skills, including meticulous care with health and safety, and we are delighted that two world-class organisations have entrusted Amec with these vital support operations."

Amec employs 44,000 people in more than 40 countries, generating annual revenues of about £5bn.

It recently mothballed its offshore yard in Wallsend, North Tyneside, and earlier this year put the site up for sale.