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Aramco turns attention to strategic projects

12 September 2025

 

In the second quarter of 2025, Saudi Aramco’s capital expenditure (capex) stood at $12.3bn, marking a marginal year-on-year increase of 1.46%. For the first half of the year, the company recorded capex of $24.85bn, up 9.5% compared to the same period last year.

The company had earlier issued capital investment guidance of $52bn to $58bn for 2025, excluding approximately $4bn in project financing.

Concerns grew in Saudi Arabia’s offshore oil and gas projects market earlier this year as engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contract awards stalled.

Aramco spent a record $5bn on offshore EPCI contracts in 2024 and was expected to surpass that in 2025. However, it awarded no Contract Release Purchase Orders (CRPOs) in the first half of the year, fuelling apprehension among contractors and suppliers.

In July, Aramco dispelled speculation by awarding five tenders worth over $3bn. The CRPOs are numbers 150, 157, 158, 159 and 160, and involve EPCI work and infrastructure upgrades at the Abu Safah, Berri, Manifa, Marjan and Zuluf offshore oil fields.

Aramco also awarded four additional CRPOs as part of a large-scale infrastructure expansion at the Zuluf offshore field. These are CRPOs 145, 146, 147 and 148, with a combined estimated value of nearly $6bn.

With these contract awards, Aramco has nearly doubled its offshore capex this year compared to 2024, marking another year of robust upstream investment.

Looking ahead, Aramco is evaluating bids received for seven key tenders in July and August.

These tenders include CRPOs 154, 155 and 156, representing the next phase of infrastructure expansion at the Safaniya offshore oil field; CRPO 161, which covers the EPCI of four gas jackets at the Arabiyah, Hasbah and Karan fields; and CRPOs 162, 163 and 164, relating to the EPCI of key infrastructure at the Abu Safah, Berri, Karan, Marjan and Safaniya fields.

Onshore projects advance

In parallel with the Safaniya offshore expansion, Aramco is tendering a separate project to build onshore surface and processing facilities to handle additional volumes of oil and associated gas generated by the expanded offshore infrastructure.

The scope of the Safaniya onshore facilities project has been divided into two main EPC packages: the first covering water treatment and injection units, and the second focused on produced water utilities. Contractors have been given deadlines of 24 October and 7 November to submit technical and commercial bids.

Aramco is also understood to be close to awarding the main EPC contracts for the expansion of the Haradh gas-oil separation plant 3 (Gosp 3) in Saudi Arabia. Located within the Haradh hydrocarbons development in the Eastern Province, the project will increase output of the Arab Light crude grade from 300,000 barrels a day (b/d) to 420,000 b/d. It will also raise sour gas production to 32 million cubic feet a day (cf/d).

Ramping up gas production

In line with its goal of increasing gas production, Aramco is progressing its Jafurah unconventional gas programme. Situated in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, the Jafurah Basin contains the largest liquid-rich shale gas play in the Middle East, with an estimated 200 trillion cubic feet of gas in place. The shale play spans approximately 17,000 square kilometres.

The Jafurah programme is a cornerstone of Aramco’s long-term gas strategy, with total lifecycle investment expected to exceed $100bn. In February 2020, Aramco received a capex allocation of $110bn from the Saudi government to support the long-term phased development of the unconventional gas resource base.

Aramco is estimated to have spent $25bn across the first three phases of Jafurah’s development. In November 2021, the company awarded $10bn in subsurface and EPC contracts for phase one of the programme.

On 30 June 2024, Aramco awarded 16 contracts worth approximately $12.4bn for phase two. The scope includes the construction of gas compression facilities, associated pipelines and the expansion of the Jafurah gas plant – covering gas processing trains, utilities, sulphur handling and export infrastructure.

In July 2024, a consortium of Spain’s Tecnicas Reunidas and China’s Sinopec was awarded a $2.24bn EPC contract by Aramco for phase three of the expansion.

Phase four of the Jafurah expansion is estimated at $2.5bn. The scope includes EPC works for three gas compression plants, each with a capacity of 200 million cf/d. Bids were submitted in mid-January, remain valid through September, and are under evaluation, with a contract award expected in Q4 2025.

Aramco is also tendering a major project to boost gas compression capacity at the Shedgum and Uthmaniya plants in the Eastern Province.

The facilities currently receive approximately 870 million cf/d and 1.2 billion cf/d of Khuff raw gas, respectively. The project aims to increase compression and processing capacity and to construct new pipelines to enhance gas transport.

Contractors are preparing bids for several EPC packages under the Shedgum and Uthmaniya gas compression project.

MEED’s October 2025 special report on Saudi Arabia also includes:

> ECONOMY: Riyadh looks to adjust investment approach
> BANKING: New funding sources solve Saudi liquidity challenge
> GAS: Saudi Arabia and Kuwait accelerate Dorra gas field development
> POWER: Saudi Arabia accelerates power transformation
> CONSTRUCTION: Saudi construction pivots from gigaprojects to events
> TRANSPORT: Infrastructure takes centre stage in Saudi strategy

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Indrajit Sen

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