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Contractors extend bid validity for Jafurah fourth expansion project

10 June 2025

Contractors have extended the validity of their bids submitted to Saudi Aramco for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works on the fourth expansion phase of the Jafurah unconventional gas development in Saudi Arabia until the end of September.

The main scope of work involves the EPC of three gas compression plants at the gas basin in the kingdom’s Eastern Province. Each plant will be able to process up to 200 million cubic feet a day (cf/d).

Contractors submitted proposals for the Jafurah fourth expansion phase project by the deadline of 15 January, MEED previously reported.

Following the submission of bids, Aramco requested contractors to extend the validity of their bids until the end of September as it needed more time to evaluate those proposals, according to sources.

“Bidders have complied. Clarifications [meetings] are ongoing between Aramco and the contractors,” one source said.

Aramco issued the main tender for the estimated $2bn-$2.5bn contract in July last year, MEED previously reported.

Contractors invited to bid for the contract were initially set a deadline of 15 October for submission of technical bids and their In-Kingdom Total Value Add (IKTVA) credentials. Commercial bids were due to be submitted by 31 October, with the deadline extended until 31 December, and then until 15 January.

According to sources, the following contractors are among those that are understood to have submitted bids for the project:

  • JGC Corporation (Japan)
  • Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (India)
  • Samsung E&A (South Korea)
  • Tecnicas Reunidas (Spain) / Sinopec Group (China)

The detailed scope of work on the Jafurah fourth expansion phase involves the EPC of the following process and utilities units at the south field of the Jafurah reserve:

  • Three gas compression trains of 200 million cf/d capacity each, measuring 400 by 400 metres
  • Gas compression plant inlet area
  • Gas compression plant condensate and produced-water handling
  • Instrumentation and plant air unit
  • Nitrogen generation unit
  • Raw/potable/water utilities
  • Chemical injection systems
  • Diesel systems
  • Flare and flare gas recovery systems
  • Gas compression plant burn pit
  • Closed drain system
  • Oily water system
  • Sanitary water system
  • Stormwater system
  • Firewater system
  • Fire and gas protection system
  • All buildings located within the gas compression plant, excluding security buildings
  • Outside battery limit buildings

The tendering process for the fourth expansion phase of Jafurah follows Aramco’s selection of the EPC contractors for the third expansion phase of the development.

In July last year, Aramco issued a non-binding letter of intent to a consortium of Tecnicas Reunidas and Sinopec Group for the EPC contract for the Jafurah third expansion phase. The value of the contract is estimated to be $2.24bn.

The objective of the third expansion phase of Jafurah is similar to that of the fourth phase of development. The main scope of work involves the EPC of three gas compression plants, each with a capacity of 200 million cf/d.

The third phase’s scope of work also includes building a 230kV substation to power the new gas compression plants and installing other utilities units, piping systems and safety equipment.

Jafurah unconventional gas base

Located in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, the Jafurah basin hosts the largest liquid-rich shale gas play in the Middle East, with an estimated 200 trillion cubic feet of gas in place. This shale play covers an area of 17,000 square kilometres.

The Jafurah project is a key component of Aramco’s long-term gas production strategy. The company expects the overall lifecycle investment at Jafurah to exceed $100bn.

In February 2020, Aramco received a capital expenditure grant of $110bn from the Saudi government for the long-term phased development of the Jafurah unconventional gas resource base.

Jafurah second expansion phase

The selection of contractors for the third expansion phase of the Jafurah development came within weeks of Aramco officially awarding EPC contracts for the second expansion phase, which aims to raise its processing potential to up to 2 billion cf/d of raw gas produced from the Jafurah field.

Aramco awarded 16 contracts, worth a combined total of about $12.4bn, for the second expansion phase on 30 June.

The work on the project will involve the construction of gas compression facilities and associated pipelines and the expansion of the Jafurah gas plant, including the construction of gas processing trains, utilities, sulphur and export facilities, Aramco said in a statement.

The main EPC packages of the Jafurah second expansion phase project, their estimated values and the selected contractors are:

  • Package 1 – gas processing plant and main process units – $2.9bn: Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (India)
  • Package 2 – utilities and offsites – $2.4bn: Hyundai Engineering (South Korea)
  • Package 3 – gas compression units – $1bn: Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon
  • Riyas natural gas liquids (NGL) package 1 – NGL fractionation trains – $1bn: Tecnicas Reunidas / Refining & Chemical Engineering Group (part of China’s Sinopec Group)
  • Riyas NGL package 2 – utilities, storage and export facilities – $2.2bn: Tecnicas Reunidas/Refining & Chemical Engineering Group
  • Riyas NGL package 6 – site preparation works – $107m: Mofarreh Alharbi & Partners (Saudi Arabia)
  • Riyas NGL package 9 – temporary construction facilities – $80m: Mofarreh Alharbi & Partners

In parallel, EPC works are also progressing on the first phase of the programme, for which Aramco awarded $10bn-worth of subsurface and EPC contracts in November 2021.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14041734/main2425.jpeg
Indrajit Sen

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