Aramco’s $18bn Contract Bonanza to Maintain Capacity
Saudi Arabian oil and gas giant Aramco announced July 9 that it has agreed contracts worth $18bn to help drive maintain output capacity.
The state company said in a statement that it has awarded 34 contracts for engineering, procurement and construction at the Marjan and Berri offshore fields. The world’s largest crude exporter hopes to expand crude oil production by 550,000 barrels/day (b/d) and gas output by 2.5bn ft3/day.
Aramco did not specify when the projects would be completed. Aramco has said it plans to bring about 1mn b/d of oil capacity online by 2023 in a bid to compensate for falling output at older fields and maintain overall production capacity of 12mn barrels/day.
Sixteen of 90 companies invited to bid were awarded contracts, half of them Saudi. Contractors will be required to maximise their purchases of material and equipment from Saudi suppliers and manufacturers.
The statement did not identify the contractors, but it is reported that they include McDermott International, Norway-listed Subsea 7, Tecnicas Reunidas of Spain and China Petroleum & Chemical. India’s Larsen & Toubro and Hyundai Engineering & Construction of South Korea also secured deals.
Saipem said the two contracts it landed to expand oil-gas separation and gas processing facilities are worth over $3.5bn.
The Marjan programme is an integrated development project for oil, associated gas, non-associated gas and cap gas from offshore fields. The project includes a new offshore gas oil separation plant and 24 offshore oil, gas and water injection platforms.
The company also plans to expand the Tanajib onshore oil facilities and construct a new gas plant, to include gas treatment and processing, NGL recovery and fractionation, and gas compression facilities. A cogeneration facility will be developed, in addition to a water desalination facility and new transfer pipelines.
The development project aims to increase Marjan production by 300,000 b/d, raise gas processing to 2.5bn ft3/day and produce an additional 360 b/d of natural gas liquids.
Expansion of Berri is planned to add 250,000 b/d from its offshore oilfield. A new gas oil separation plant in Abu Ali Island will process 500,000 b/d while additional gas processing facilities at the Khursaniyah gas plant will process 40,000 b/d of associated hydrocarbon condensate.
“These two programmes will significantly enhance Saudi Aramco’s oil production and gas processing capabilities, both strengthening our position as the leading integrated energy supplier and meeting growing long-term demand for petroleum,” said CEO Amin Nasser.
“These investments will support our continued focus on employing best-in-class technologies, well completion, and reservoir management practices. It will enable Saudi Aramco to further reduce the carbon intensity of our crude oils, supporting our strategy of reducing emissions while providing energy to those who need it,” he added.