Saudi Aramco awards $25 billion in contracts for gas expansion

The contracts awarded include $12.4 billion for increasing gas output at Jafurah, plus $8.8 billion for expanding the so-called master gas system.

Saudi Aramco has awarded construction contracts worth $25 billion for the development of its Jafurah gas project, as it looks to boost production of the fuel considered a key part of plans to reduce plant-warming emissions.

An Aramco employee walks near an oil tank at Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura oil refinery and oil terminal in Saudi Arabia. (Reuters)

The contracts awarded include $12.4 billion for increasing gas output at Jafurah, plus $8.8 billion for expanding the so-called master gas system, which delivers natural gas to customers around the country, according to a statement. Aramco also awarded $2.4 billion in contracts for gas rigs.

Saudi Arabia has some of the biggest gas reserves in the world. Development of the Jafurah field, estimated to hold 200 trillion cubic feet of gas, is expected to cost $100 billion and boost the firm’s gas production more than 60% by 2030.

“These contract awards demonstrate our firm belief in the future of gas as an important energy source, as well as a vital feedstock for downstream industries,” Aramco Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser said in Sunday’s statement.

“The scale of our ongoing investment at Jafurah and the expansion of our Master Gas System underscores our intention to further integrate and grow our gas business to meet anticipated rising demand,” he added.

Gas from the project will be used in the first instance to supply the country’s domestic industries, with any excess capacity potentially used to make blue hydrogen or exported as LNG, Aramco has said.