Fadhili Gas Plant in Saudi Arabia to undergo US$ 7.7 billion expansion

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The 2.5bcf/d capacity Fadhili Gas Plant located approximately 30 kilometers west of Jubail Industrial City in Saudi Arabia’s eastern province is set to undergo a US$ 7.7 billion expansion project that will increase its capacity to 4bcf/d.

Reportedly the project will be carried out by Samsung Engineering (Samsung E&A) in collaboration with GS Engineering & Construction Corp. (GS E&C) and Nesma & Partners. Samsung E&A is a Korean construction and project management company that provides a full range of engineering services including feasibility studies, design, procurement, construction, and commissioning.

GS E&C on the other hand is a Korean multinational contractor in civil engineering, building, oil & gas, power plants and renewable energy sectors while Nesma & Partners is the leading contracting company in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia providing reliable and innovative solutions to some of the world’s biggest energy, construction, and infrastructure projects today.

The companies signed contracts regarding the US$ 7.7 billion project with Aramco on 2nd April 2024. Also known as Saudi Aramco and officially known as the Saudi Arabian Oil Group, Aramco, is a state-owned petroleum and natural gas company that is the national oil company of Saudi Arabia and the Fadhili Gas Plant operator.

The Fadhili Gas Plant expansion project is scheduled for completion by November 2027. Reportedly, the substantial increase of 1.5bscfd in its processing capacity will bolster Aramco’s strategy to augment gas production by more than 60% come 2030, relative to the levels recorded in 2021.

About Fadhili Gas Plant

The gas-fired combined heat and power plant was built by Fadhili Plant Cogeneration Company (FPCC) at an estimated cost of US$ 13.3bn. Its construction began back in 2016. The works were carried out in three sections which included the construction of a gas processing unit, the construction of utilities and offsite facilities such as nitrogen, steam, power and water systems, and the construction of a sulphur recovery system.

Currently, the facility comprises a total of five gas turbines with associated heat recovery steam generators and two steam turbines with air-cooled condensers that enable a high fuel utilization factor of up to 81.1%.

It processes an estimated 2bcf/d of non-associated gas from the Hasbah offshore gas field and 500mmcf/d of gas from the Khursaniyah onshore gas field producing 1.5bcf/d of sales gas and 4,000 metric tons a day of sulphur. It also produces 470mmcf/d of gas that is supplied to a nearby co-generation power plant that was constructed alongside the Fadhili Gas Plant.

The cogeneration power plant was developed as per a build, own, operate and transfer system (BOOT) agreement that is valid for a period of 20 years by a joint venture between Saudi Aramco (30%), ENGIE (40%), and Saudi Electricity Company (60%).

Engie is a French multinational utility company that operates in the fields of electricity generation and distribution, natural gas, nuclear, renewable energy and petroleum. Noteworthy, the company is active in both upstream and downstream activities. Saudi Electricity Company on the other hand is the Saudi electric energy company responsible for the generation, transmission and distribution of electric power in Saudi Arabia.

The cogeneration power plant has a capacity of 1,500MW, 400MW of which is supplied to the Fadhili Gas Plant while the rest (1,100MW) is supplied to the national grid.

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