India’s Larsen & Toubro (L&T), through its subsidiary L&T Energy Hydrocarbon Onshore (LTEH), has reportedly won an EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contract from Saudi Aramco for Phase 4 gas compression facilities at the Jafurah unconventional gas field. The contract is valued at approximately $1.57 billion, a project L&T itself classifies as “Ultra Mega” in scale.
The project involves building new gas compression facilities to process sour gas produced at the Jafurah field in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, reportedly one of the world’s largest unconventional gas fields. L&T’s scope covers an integrated EPC package including gas inlet facilities, compression systems, condensate and produced-water treatment, and propane refrigeration systems. The specific licensor for the compression equipment has not been disclosed.
The contract is reportedly valued at approximately $1.57 billion (more than INR 150 billion). The facility comprises two gas compression trains, each with a processing capacity of up to 200 million standard cubic feet per day (scf/d). L&T’s power transmission and distribution division will also build two 230kV extra-high-voltage substations as part of the scope.
The Jafurah field is reportedly a centerpiece of Saudi Arabia’s strategy to expand gas production, and this gas compression facility expansion is reportedly part of a phased build-out of the field’s development stages.
As unconventional gas field development takes on a growing role in national energy self-sufficiency and gas supply strategies, EPC awards for related gas processing and compression facilities are seen as likely to keep increasing accordingly.
Attention is on when L&T will set construction start and mechanical completion timelines for the new trains, and whether further phases of Jafurah field development will follow with additional contract awards.