courtesy First Calgary

One-time Statoil suiter First Calgary Petroleums has taken a tiny $3.5 million loss for 2006, while announcing that it’s overwhelmingly successful Algerian campaign will feature $90 million in drilling in 2007.

While its stock price percolates in the approach to new desert reserves, First Calgary confirmed Wednesday that it plans contract awards this summer from the front-end engineering and design tender under way for vast Algerian gas plant. The plant will produce 400 million cubic feet per day by late 2009.

The engineering, procurement and construction contract is due to be awarded by the end of 2007.

The company’s main asset, the MLE field on Block 405b, is huge at 1.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent (Tcfe), or 223 million barrels of oil equivalent. Yet MLE is “only the first stage” on the acreage, and 2006 drilling showed reserves twice as voluminous.