July 03, 2024 [Oil & Gas Journal]- Saudi Aramco has awarded contracts worth more than $25 billion to support projects aimed at growing sales gas production by more than 60% by 2030, compared to 2021 levels.
The contracts relate to phase two development of its Jafurah unconventional onshore natural gas field, phase three expansion of Aramco’s Master Gas System, new gas rigs, and ongoing capacity maintenance.
Aramco contract awards
The operator awarded 16 contracts, worth a combined total of around $12.4 billion, for phase two development at Jafurah. The work will involve construction of gas compression infrastructure and associated pipelines, expansion of the Jafurah gas plant including construction of gas processing trains, and utilities, sulfur and export infrastructure. It will also involve construction of Aramco’s new Riyas NGL fractionation infrastructure in Jubail—including NGL fractionation trains, and utilities, storage, and export infrastructure—to process NGL received from Jafurah.
Another 15 lump sum turnkey contracts, worth a combined total of around $8.8 billion, have been awarded to begin the phase three expansion of the Master Gas System, which delivers natural gas to customers across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The expansion, being conducted with the Ministry of Energy, aims to increase the size of the network and raise total capacity by 3.15 bscfd by 2028, through the installation of around 4,000 km of pipelines and 17 new gas compression trains.
An additional 23 gas rig contracts worth $2.4 billion have also been awarded, along with two directional drilling contracts worth $612 million. Meanwhile, 13 well tie-in contracts at Jafurah, worth a total of $1.63 billion, have been awarded between December 2022 and May 2024.
Jafurah
Jafurah unconventional gas field is estimated to contain 229 tcf of raw gas and 75 billion stb of condensate. Phase one of Jafurah development, which began in November 2021, is progressing on schedule with initial start-up expected in third-quarter 2025 (OGJ Online, Dec. 1, 2021). Aramco expects total overall lifecycle investment at Jafurah to exceed $100 billion and production to reach a sustainable sales gas rate of 2 bcfd by 2030, in addition to volumes of ethane, NGL, and condensate.
Master Gas System expansion
Aramco’s Master Gas System is a network of pipelines that connects Aramco’s gas production and processing sites throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Its expansion will increase access to domestic gas supplies for customers in the industrial, utility, and other sectors—providing a lower greenhouse gas emission alternative to oil for power generation, the company said.
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