Petrofac shares dip after bribery case

PETROFAC shares nosedived after a former sales executive admitted handing out more than £39m in bribes to seal £3.4bn worth of Middle East contracts.

David Lufkin, 51, one-time head of global sales for a subsidiary of the oil and gas services provider, pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates’ Court to 11 counts of bribery between 2012 and 2015. Among the corrupt payments he made was £35m to a contact to win three engineering and construction deals in Saudi Arabia that were worth a combined £2.9bn between 2012 and 2015. He also paid £1.7m to two people to seal a £255m engineering contract for the Badra oilfield in Iraq, which Petrofac won in 2012.

Lufkin will be sentenced at a later date. Petrofac said no charges had been brought against current staff members but added that a number of employees were alleged to have acted with Lufkin. Shares fell 29.3pc, or 164p, to 395p.