Oil giant Saudi Aramco has awarded four engineering contracts for the proposed SAR50bn ($13.3bn) Fadhili gas processing project.

Upon completion by the end of 2019, the Fadhili gas project is expected to become a key component of the country’s master gas system, processing gas from onshore and offshore fields.

Saudi Aramco selected India's Larsen & Tubro for Fadhili offshore facilities while Saudi KAD won contract for Fadhili downstream project.

Saudi Electric Company and Engie have been awarded contract for the Fadhili combine heat and power (CHP).

The company has awarded contract for the construction of a residential camp at the site to Mohammed I. Al Subeae & Sons Investment Holding Company.

Saudi Aramco already signed ten other contracts for the project last year.

Expected to create 4,500 jobs, the project is designed to help boost natural gas production while reducing the country’s reliance on oil for power generation.

A training center is planned to be launched at the Fadhili facility in collaboration with governmental agencies focused on human resource development.

By 2020, the Fadhili project, along with Saudi Aramco’s two other new major gas projects Wasit and Midyan, is expected to boost Saudi gas production capacity to more than 17 billion standard cubic feet per day.

Saudi Aramco president and CEO Amin Nasser said: “Saudi Aramco’s multi-billion dollar investment in Fadhili will considerably increase the share of gas in the Kingdom’s energy mix and fits in with our long term strategy to lower emissions.

“Gas will be of vital importance to the Kingdom’s ongoing industrial diversification and economic development while enabling better energy efficiency in the utility sector.

“The increased gas production will mean more feedstock for industries to expand, and new ones to emerge that will help drive job creation, a key objective of Saudi Vision 2030.”

The Fadhili project includes a 1,500MW power plant, which will use 400 MW of electricity to power the gas project while the remaining 1,100MW is supplied to the domestic grid.

Image: Saudi Aramco signs contract with India's Larsen & Tubro for Fadhili offshore facilities. Photo: courtesy of Saudi Arabian Oil Co.