Milan-based engineering and construction contractor Saipem said June 10 it has secured a contract worth more than $1 billion for its share of a project to build a new gas compression plant for Saudi Aramco’s Uthmaniyah non-associated gas field in eastern Saudi Arabia.
Saipem said the award is the first engineering, procurement and construction project issued under Saudi Aramco’s “national EPC champion program,” an initiative designed to develop locally based contractors by connecting them with international firms to execute large-scale onshore energy projects while increasing domestic content and workforce participation.
The contract was signed by Saipem Nasser Saeed Al-Hajri Contracting Co., a jointly controlled company formed by Saipem and Saudi contractor Nasser Saeed Al-Hajri and Partners Co. for Contracting (NSH). The project is expected to take about 42 months to complete.
According to Saipem, the team will execute EPC work for the new compression facility that is intended to extend the productive life of the field while helping meet growing energy demand in Saudi Arabia.
Technical information released by Saipem indicates the facility will compress non-associated gas flowing to the existing Uthmaniyah gas plant.
The scope calls for gas compression facilities that separate gas and liquids, increase gas pressure from about 150 psig to 1,000 psig, related to atmospheric pressure. and deliver about 882 million cu ft of gas per day into existing processing infrastructure. The project also includes modifications to the existing gas plant
Saipem and NSH established the joint venture in Saudi Arabia following a 2022 agreement with Aramco
Looking for quick answers on construction and engineering topics?
Try Ask ENR, our new smart AI search tool.
Ask ENR →
The award comes as Aramco expands Saudi gas production and processing capacity. The company has said it aims to increase sales gas production capacity by up to 80% by 2030 compared with 2021 levels as it expands domestic gas supplies for power generation, industry and petrochemical production.
Industry reports indicate the Uthmaniyah project is part of a broader program to increase gas compression and processing capacity at the Uthmaniyah and Shedgum facilities. They currently receive about 1.2 billion cu ft per day and 870 million cu ft per day of gas, respectively.
The expansion effort includes new pipeline infrastructure designed to improve gas transportation, according to MEED, a Middle East-based project intelligence publication.
The existing Uthmaniyah Gas Plant, commissioned in 1981 as part of Aramco’s master gas system, is one of the key processing hubs in its natural gas network. Located about 177 km southwest of Dhahran, it processes gas from fields across the region and plays a central role in supplying gas to domestic markets.
The contract award comes as an integration of Subsea 7 and Saipem, announced last year, is set to close in the second half of 2026, a deal valued at about $4.6 billion, company executives said in recent financial results updates.
The combined firm would have about 45,000 global employees and $45.2 billion in backlog, according to reports.
