Aramco evaluates bids for three key offshore tenders
19 August 2025
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Saudi Aramco is currently evaluating bids for three tenders related to the engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of key infrastructure at the Abu Safah, Berri, Karan, Marjan and Safaniya offshore oil and gas fields in Saudi Arabia.
According to sources, the tenders are listed as CRPOs 162, 163 and 164 on Aramco’s Contract Release and Purchase Order (CRPO) system.
Contractors in Aramco’s Long-Term Agreement (LTA) pool of offshore service providers submitted technical bids for these CRPOs by 16 July, and commercial bids by 29 July, sources told MEED.
The summarised EPCI scope for the three tenders is as follows:
CRPO 162:
Abu Safah and Berri fields: replacement of two rigid pipelines – a 30-inch pipeline stretching 23.98 kilometres, and a 20-inch pipeline, 10.23km-long; replacement of one flexible 10-inch pipeline that spans 5.1km; modification work on topsides.
CRPO 163:
Marjan and Safaniya fields: replacement of seven rigid pipelines covering a total length of 26.93km; and modification work on topsides.
CRPO 164:
Karan field: installation of a new 15kV submarine composite power cable with a length of approximately 45km.
Aramco's LTA pool of offshore service providers comprises the following entities:
- Saipem (Italy)
- McDermott International (US)
- Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (LTEH, India) / Subsea7 (UK)
- NMDC Energy (UAE)
- Lamprell (UAE/Saudi Arabia)
- China Offshore Oil Engineering Company
- Dynamic Industries (US)
- Sapura Energy (Malaysia)
- TechnipFMC (France) / MMHE (Malaysia)
- Hyundai Heavy Industries (South Korea)
Aramco renewed its LTAs in April with the following contractors, whose contracts had either lapsed or were close to expiry:
- Saipem
- McDermott International
- Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon / Subsea7
- NMDC Energy
- Lamprell
- China Offshore Oil Engineering Company
Offshore contract awards rebound
Concerns had grown in Saudi Arabia’s offshore market as EPCI contract awards stalled earlier this year.
Aramco spent a record $5bn on offshore EPCI contracts in 2024 and was expected to exceed that in 2025. However, it did not award any CRPO in the first half of the year, fuelling concern among contractors and suppliers.
In July, Aramco dispelled speculation by selecting contractors for five CRPOs – numbers 150, 157, 158, 159 and 160 – worth over $3bn. These involve EPCI work and infrastructure upgrades at the Abu Safah, Berri, Manifa, Marjan and Zuluf offshore fields.
Furthermore, frontrunners have emerged for four more CRPOs that are part of a large-scale project to expand infrastructure at the Zuluf offshore field development. The tenders are CRPOs 145, 146, 147 and 148, and their combined value is estimated to be almost $6bn.
Although official contracts for these CRPOs have yet to be issued, Aramco is expected to formally award the jobs to the contractors it has selected from its LTA pool within the third quarter.
When these contract awards take place, Aramco will have almost doubled its capex on offshore projects this year compared to 2024, marking yet another year of robust upstream project spending.
Furthermore, it is understood there are at least seven more CRPOs – including 162, 163 and 164 – that LTA contractors are preparing bids for.
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