Dubai \u2013 Saudi Aramco is approaching the awarding of a major contract for the fifth phase of its Jafurah shale gas field expansion project. This development follows the recent launch of operations for the fourth phase in June last year.<\/p>\n
The company intends to award the main contract for the fifth phase, which aims to add three new gas compression stations. Each station will have a capacity of 200 million cubic feet per day. This infrastructure boost supports the ongoing growth of the largest shale gas field in the Middle East and North Africa.<\/p>\n
Contractors submitted their bids by July 12 last year. Wood completed the preliminary engineering design for this phase prior to the bidding deadline. Although no official announcement has been made regarding the selected contractor, China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corporation (CPECC) is considered a leading candidate for the engineering, procurement, and construction work.<\/p>\n
The expansion project is being implemented in multiple stages with rapid progress. The second phase alone received approximately 16 contracts in June 2024, valued at nearly 12.4 billion dollars. The third phase required investments of 2.24 billion dollars and was awarded to an alliance comprising China\u2019s Sinopec and Tecnicas Reunidas.<\/p>\n
In April 2026, the energy and hydrocarbons unit of India\u2019s Larsen & Toubro secured the contract for the fourth phase. This stage targeted two gas compression units. Operations for engineering, procurement, and construction began in June after the selection of the Indian firm.<\/p>\n
Work on awarding the fifth-phase contract is currently underway simultaneously with the preparation of tenders for the main package of the sixth phase. Estimates indicate that the Jafurah field holds approximately 229 trillion cubic feet of unconventional gas reserves and 75 billion barrels of condensates.<\/p>\n
The field spans an area of 17 thousand square kilometers in the Eastern Province basin. Previous targets indicated that gas production would begin in 2025, with gradual increases expected from the expansion. Aramco received a government spending grant equivalent to 110 billion dollars in February 2020 for long-term development phases.<\/p>\n
This story was produced in the newsroom from the disclosed sources named above.<\/em><\/p>\n