Saudi Aramco has awarded contracts worth more than $25bn to advance its strategic gas expansion, targeting a more than 60% increase in sales gas production by 2030 compared with 2021.
The contracts are for the second-phase development of the Jafurah gas field, the third-phase expansion of Aramco’s Master Gas System, and the procurement of new gas rigs and capacity maintenance.
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Specifically, 16 contracts totalling around $12.4bn have been awarded for the Jafurah field’s second phase.
This phase involves constructing gas compression facilities, pipelines and expanding the Jafurah Gas Plant with new gas processing trains, utilities, and sulphur and export facilities.
It also includes the construction of the Riyas Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) fractionation facilities in Jubail to process NGL from Jafurah.
For the Master Gas System’s third phase expansion, 15 contracts worth approximately $8.8bn have been awarded.
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By GlobalDataThis expansion, in collaboration with the Ministry of Energy, will increase the network’s size and capacity by an extra 3.15 billion standard cubic feet per day (bscf/d) by 2028, with around 4,000km of pipelines and 17 new gas compression trains.
Additionally, 23 gas rig contracts worth $2.4bn and two directional drilling contracts worth $612m have been awarded.
Between December 2022 and May 2024, Aramco has also granted 13 well tie-in contracts at Jafurah, with a combined value of $1.63bn.
Aramco president & CEO Amin Nasser said: “These contract awards demonstrate our firm belief in the future of gas as an important energy source, as well as a vital feedstock for downstream industries. The scale of our ongoing investment at Jafurah and the expansion of our Master Gas System underscores our intention to further integrate and grow our gas business to meet anticipated rising demand.
“This complements the diversification of our portfolio, creates new employment opportunities, and supports the kingdom’s transition towards a lower-emission power grid, in which gas and renewables gradually displace liquids-based power generation.”
The Jafurah gas field is estimated to contain 229 trillion standard cubic feet of raw gas and 75 billion stock tank barrels of condensate. It is currently undergoing its first phase of development, which started in November 2021, and is on track for initial start-up in the third quarter of 2025.
Aramco anticipates a total life cycle investment exceeding $100bn at Jafurah, with production expected to reach a sustainable sales gas rate of 2bscf/d by 2030, along with substantial volumes of ethane, NGL and condensate.
The Master Gas System, a major pipeline network within Saudi Arabia, will improve access to domestic gas supplies for various sectors, offering a lower-emission alternative to oil for power generation.
Last week, Aramco signed a liquefied natural gas (LNG) offtake agreement with Sempra and is considering a 25% stake in the Port Arthur LNG phase two expansion project in the US.
