In a statement posted on its website recently, Saudi Aramco announced that it has awarded engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracts worth $7.7 billion for a “major expansion” of the company’s Fadhili Gas Plant in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.
Aramco said it awarded EPC contracts for the Fadhili Gas Plant increment project to Samsung Engineering Company, GS Engineering & Construction Corporation, and Nesma & Partners.
The project is expected to increase the plant’s processing capacity from 2.5 to up to four billion standard cubic feet per day (bscfd), Aramco noted in the release, adding that this additional 1.5 bscfd of processing capacity is expected to contribute to the company’s strategy to raise gas production by more than 60 percent by 2030, compared to 2021 levels.
The Fadhili Gas Plant expansion is expected to be completed by November 2027, Aramco revealed in the release, which outlined that the expansion is also expected to add an additional 2,300 metric tons per day to sulphur production.
“The award of these contracts reflects Aramco’s goal to increase supplies of natural gas, help efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and free up more crude oil for value-added refining and export,” Aramco Executive Vice President of Technical Services Wail Al Jaafari said in the release.
“Together with leading international companies, we are advancing our goal to increase gas production,” he added.
“The expansion also supports our ambitions to develop a lower-carbon hydrogen business, while associated liquids from gas are an important feedstock for the petrochemical industry,” he continued.
In a statement posted on its site, Samsung Engineering, which recently rebranded to Samsung E&A, revealed that it had won a “major” $6 billion deal for the Aramco Fadhili gas project.
“Samsung E&A will execute package #1 Gas Treatment Unit as well as package #4 Utilities and Offsites,” the company noted in the statement.
“Once the project is completed, the daily gas throughput will increase from the existing 2.5 billion cubic feet to 3.8 billion cubic feet. Samsung E&A will independently carry out the entire EPC process,” it added.
Samsung noted in the statement that it won this project following the Jafurah Gas Treatment Project received in 2021 and added that it “therefore performs Saudi Arabia’s most representative gas projects one after the other”.
“We are confident to deliver a steady performance on the Fadhili Gas Increment Program with our extensive experience in Saudi Arabia,” Hong Namkoong, the President and CEO of Samsung E&A said in the statement.
“We will further gain the trust of clients with our differentiated technology and quality, and further strengthen our position in the Middle East market,” he added.
GS Engineering & Construction Corporation and Nesma & Partners have made no mention of the EPC deals for the Fadhili Gas Plant increment project on their websites at the time of writing.
In its full year results statement published on March 10, Aramco noted that its gas projects are “advancing with the aim of increasing gas production by more than 60 percent by 2030, compared to 2021 levels”.
“These projects include the Hawiyah Unayzah Gas Reservoir Storage, where injection activities have commenced with the goal of providing up to two billion standard cubic feet per day for reintroduction into the master gas system; completion of the Hawiyah Gas Plant expansion, increasing the plant’s raw gas processing capacity by 800 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd), including approximately 750 mmscfd of sales gas capacity; and production of the first unconventional tight gas from the South Ghawar operational area,” the company added in the statement.
Back in February, Aramco announced that it had signed procurement deals worth $6 billion.
“Aramco…today advanced its strategic localization program by signing 40 corporate procurement agreements worth $6 billion with suppliers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the company said in a statement posted on its site on February 27.
“The agreements aim to strengthen Aramco’s domestic supply chain ecosystem, contributing to the company’s resilience, reliability, and ability to meet the evolving needs of its customers,” it added.
“They also provide suppliers with long-term visibility of demand, enabling them to capture future growth and advance localization efforts,” it continued.
In that statement, Jaafari said, “the 40 new agreements signed today are expected to contribute to the domestic value chain, and further enhance the ecosystem that Aramco is helping to build”.
“These agreements move us towards a more prosperous, diverse, and resilient supply chain, which will help ensure business continuity,” he added.
“They also represent a key milestone on our iktva journey and provide our partners an opportunity to benefit from a dynamic and increasingly diversified operating environment,” he continued.
Aramco describes the iktva program as its “flagship initiative that aims to drive the growth of a vibrant economy and create new opportunities for Saudi nationals”.
