Aramco has awarded engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts worth US$7.7bn to SAMSUNG Engineering Company, GS Engineering & Construction Corporation and Nesma & Partners for a major expansion of its Fadhili Gas Plant in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia
The project is expected to increase the plant’s processing capacity from 2.5 to up to 4 billion standard cubic feet per day (bscfd), in line with the company’s strategy to raise gas production by more than 60% by 2030, compared to 2021 levels. The expansion, which is expected to be completed by November 2027, is also expected to add an additional 2,300 metric tons per day to sulphur production.
Wail Al Jaafari, Aramco executive vice president of Technical Services, said, “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. Together with leading international companies, we are advancing our goal to increase gas production. 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.”
Expansion plans
Aramco’s plans to further expand its gas business include the development of its unconventional gas resources, increasing production and investing in additional infrastructure to meet the large and growing domestic demand for lower-cost energy. Domestic gas demand growth is driven by power generation, water desalination, petrochemicals and other industrial production. In November 2023, Aramco announced it had produced the first unconventional tight gas from its South Ghawar field, where it is working to more than double the overall processing capacity to achieve South Ghawar’s strategic goal of delivering 750mn scfd of raw gas in the near future.
Work is also progressing at the giant Jafurah unconventional gas field, the largest liquid-rich shale gas play in the Middle East, containing an estimated 200 trillion standard cubic feet (scf) of natural gas. Initial production is expected to commence in 2025, gradually increasing to 2.0 bscfd by 2030. Aramco is also expanding its international LNG business, with the acquisition of a minority stake in MidOcean.
See also: https://oilreviewmiddleeast.com/exploration-production/aramco-commences-tight-gas-production-from-south-ghawar
https://oilreviewmiddleeast.com/exploration-production/aramco-boosts-reserves-at-jafurah-unconventional-gas-field
https://oilreviewmiddleeast.com/exploration-production/aramco-discovers-two-new-gas-fields
