Saudi Aramco has signed $4.5 billion worth of agreements with several oil and gas service contractors for mega energy projects designed to enhance the company’s energy sustainability, diversify the economy, expand gas production, and localise domestic content.  

Eight agreements were signed, including three with Madrid-based Técnicas Reunidas under the Gas Compression Program in the Southern Area. The project will improve and sustain gas production from Haradh and Hawiyah fields for the next 20 years by bringing an additional 1 billion standard cubic feet per day (scfd).

The Hawiyah Gas Plant (HGP) Expansion Project will provide additional gas processing facilities to process raw sweet gas, to efficiently meet the kingdom's energy demand, said a statement from Aramco.  

The contract will be awarded to the Italian firm Snamprogetti (Saipem). Other agreements signed today cover the Free Flow Pipeline Contract for Haradh and Hawiyah (with China Petroleum Pipelines Company); engineering and project management services for the Zuluf Field Development Program (with Jacobs Engineering Inc.); the Pipeline and Trunk line Project of Safaniyah Field (with Abu Dhabi-based National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC); and the Slipover Platforms and Electrical Distribution Platform Project in Safaniyah Field (with McDermott Middle East).

Announcing the mega projects, Saudi Aramco President and CEO Amin H. Nasser said: "These agreements we signed are part of our natural gas expansion, as we add about 1 billion scfd. This reflects our commitment to introducing new supplies of clean-burning natural gas."

"These new supplies will help reduce domestic reliance on liquid fuels for power generation, enable increased liquids exports, provide feedstock to petrochemical industries, and reduce carbon emissions," he noted.  

Nasser pointed out that investments like these help secure Saudi Aramco’s preeminent position as a reliable supplier of energy domestically and to the world.

"They also reflect our concerted effort, as stated in Saudi Vision 2030, to diversify our economy, promote local manufacturing, support a sustainable environment, and strengthen our business and investment climate with the domestic private sector through fruitful international partnerships," he added.

*North, South and Satellite Gas Compression Plants
The Gas Compression Program in Southern Area provides for improving and sustaining gas production from Haradh and Hawiyah fields by reducing choke pressure at the wellhead to 300 pounds per square inch gauge.  

The program will extend plateau life at the same production rates for both fields for the next 20 years.  The program will also provide for boosting the production by around 1.3 billion scfd supplementing sales gas and condensate production.

The scope of work includes installation of gas compression facilities, liquid separation stations and transmission lines to Haradh and Hawiyah Gas Plant along with expanding the existing gas gathering pipeline network. The execution of all three contracts will be awarded to Spanish group Técnicas Reunidas on an LSTK basis. Engineering and Procurement services will be carried out from the contractor’s headquarters in Madrid, Spain.  

*Hawiyah Gas Plant Expansion
Hawiyah Gas Plant (HGP) Expansion Project will provide additional gas processing facilities to process 1,070 million scfd of raw sweet gas to efficiently meet the kingdom's energy demand. The scope mainly includes inlet facilities, two new gas treatment trains, dehydration and dew point control facilities, two sales gas compression units, high and low pressure flare and flare recovery systems, steam turbine generation unit, expansion of electrical and non-electrical utilities in addition to four new Industrial support buildings.

The LSTK contract will be awarded to the Italian EPC firm, Snamprogetti (Saipem). The new gas processing facilities will be on stream by June 2021. Once completed, the project will increase the total production at HGP to approximately 3,860 million scfd, and will make it one of the largest gas processing facilities in the world.

*Free Flow Pipeline Contract
The Free Flow Pipelines Packages allows for an early start of the Haradh Gas Increment Program.  It provides for installing around 450km of pipeline network by early 2019 in order to allow for free flowing 290 million scfd from Haradh field to Hawiyah Gas Plant to ensure a sustained gas production from Haradh and Hawiyah fields until the completion of the compression plants.

The scope of this contract has been awarded to China Petroleum Pipelines (CPP) Company based on a Lump Sum Procure Build (LSPB) basis.
 
*Engineering & Project Management Services (PMC) for Zuluf Field Development Program
The Zuluf program will provide facilities to process 600 MBCD of Arab heavy crude oil from Zuluf offshore field. The scope of work includes water injection and oil wellhead platforms, tie-in platforms, trunk lines and flowlines in addition to 600 mbcd Onshore Central Processing Facilities which will contain aq new Gas/Oil Separation Plant, Gas Compression Facilities and new water injection plants.

The stabilized crude oil will be transported to Ju’aymah terminal via new downstream pipelines.  The separated gas and condensate streams will be transported to the proposed Tanajib Gas Plant via new pipelines. The contract for engineering and project management services for the Zuluf program will be awarded to Jacobs Engineering.

*TP 21, Trunklines 14 & 15 in Safaniyah Field
This project provides for EPCI of one Tie in Platform (jacket and deck) to serve as an additional gathering hub for future oil wellhead platforms in Safaniyah field. It will also provide an additional power supply for the Safaniya Field via 20 kms of subsea cable.

Also, the project will install 30” x 25.5 km long concrete weight coated trunk line (TL), 14 pipeline between the new TP-21 and the onshore Safaniya GOSP-1. The Abu Dhabi-based National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC) will be executing the two-year work under the guidance of Saudi Aramco’s Offshore Project Department.

*Slipover Platforms and Electrical Distribution Platform in Safaniyah Field
The project provides for EPCI of 10 new Slipover Platforms in the South Safaniya Field. This project is designed to enhance the production of crude oil in Safaniyah Field.

The project will also install a new Electrical Distribution Platform (EDP) which will serve as an offshore power substation, and will supply the 10 new slipover platforms with electricity to power the electrical submersible pumps on each facility. McDermott Middle East (Dubai) will be executing the three-year project under the guidance of Saudi Aramco’s Offshore Projects Department.

A world leader in integrated energy and chemicals, Saudi Aramco said these projects reflect company’s continued commitment to increasing gas production.-TradeArabia News Service