The EPC works will be carried out on 17 packages of MGS-3 related to upgrading of existing gas compression systems, installing new compressors, and laying new pipelines.
Mar 19, 2024
Leading energy and oil company of Saudi Arabia, Aramco, has selected 11 contractors to carry out the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works on the third phase of the Master Gas Network’s expansion, known as MGS-3.
The third phase of expansion aims to increase the total MGS network capacity to 12.5 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day, add 821 km of additional pipeline across the east-west pipeline corridor, and add one more gas compression plant.
The EPC works on the USD 10 billion project have been divided into 17 packages. While the first two packages will focus on upgrading existing gas compression systems and installing new compressors, the remaining 15 will concentrate on laying gas pipelines in the kingdom.
The scope of work for the 15 packages involves laying new pipelines and expanding associated facilities from east to west and in densely populated clusters across the kingdom to meet increased industrial and household demand since the second upgrade (MGS-2) in 2015 to the gas network, which was originally built in the 1970s.
Aramco has issued letters of intent to 11 contractors for 16 out of 17 EPC packages for MGS-3. Package 16, which involves laying a 52-km pipeline to serve customers in the Jeddah area, will be issued later as a separate tender.
These include three companies from Saudi Arabia, three from China, two from India and one each from Italy, Turkey and Germany.
The list is as follows:
Package 1: China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Company (China)
Package 2: SEPCO (China)
Packages 3 & 12: Gas Arabian (Saudi Arabia)
Packages 4 & 9: Mapa Group (Turkey)
Package 5: Bin Quraya Construction (Saudi Arabia)
Packages 6 & 7: Sinopec International Petroleum Service Corporation (China)
Package 8: Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (India)
Packages 10 & 14: Nesma & Partners (Saudi Arabia); SICIM (Italy)
Package 11: Max Streicher (Germany)
Packages 13, 15 & 17: Kalpataru Power Transmission (India)
The Master Gas System was initiated in the 1970s and commissioned in 1982 to harness gas resulting from oil production that would otherwise have been flared or burned off. It is one of the world’s largest hydrocarbon networks worth USD 10 billion.
Also Read: Kalpataru Bags Major Order From Aramco to Lay More Than 800 Km Gas Pipeline in Saudi Arabia
The Phase 3 project aims to convert a number of power plants from oil to natural gas, contributing to Saudi Arabia’s drive towards a cleaner energy mix and its net-zero emission goal. It also aims at expanding the existing gas network in order to provide gas supply to various industrial consumers in the region and meet the growing energy demand in Saudi Arabia.
The gas transmission network, which was largely for domestic industrial and household consumption, rather than export, shifted the kingdom’s energy consumption mix by replacing oil for domestic power generation.
Aramco has been supplying natural gas to its customers across Saudi Arabia via the network, mainly channelling associated gas from Ghawar and other oil fields. Since 2001, the network also includes plants built exclusively to capture non-associated gas from a gas reservoir rather than produced alongside oil.
