Saipem secures $1bn Aramco gas compression contract in Saudi Arabia

Italian engineering and construction contractor Saipem has been awarded a contract worth more than $1 billion (€921 million) to build a new gas compression plant at Saudi Aramco's Uthmaniyah non-associated gas field in eastern Saudi Arabia, as reported by Engineering News-Record. The contract marks the first EPC project issued under Aramco's newly established National EPC Champion Program, an initiative designed to develop locally based contractors by connecting them with international firms for large-scale onshore energy projects.

The contract was awarded to SNSH, a jointly controlled company formed by Saipem and Saudi contractor Nasser Saeed Al-Hajri and Partners Co. for Contracting (NSH), which was established following a 2022 agreement with Aramco. The project is expected to take approximately 42 months to complete.

The scope of work covers the construction of gas compression facilities that will separate gas and liquids, increase gas pressure from approximately 150 psig to 1,000 psig, and deliver approximately 882 million cubic feet of gas per day into existing processing infrastructure. The project also includes modifications to the existing Uthmaniyah gas plant.

The Uthmaniyah Gas Plant was commissioned in 1981 as part of Aramco's master gas system. Located approximately 177 kilometres southwest of Dhahran, it is one of the key processing hubs in Aramco's natural gas network, currently receiving approximately 1.2 billion cubic feet of gas per day.

The new compression facility is designed to extend the productive life of the Uthmaniyah field while supporting growing energy demand in Saudi Arabia. Aramco has stated its aim to increase sales gas production capacity by up to 80 per cent by 2030 compared with 2021 levels, targeting expanded domestic supply for power generation, industry and petrochemical production.

The National EPC Champion Program reflects a broader strategic shift in how Aramco structures major capital projects, linking international engineering and construction firms with Saudi contractors to increase domestic content and workforce participation across the value chain.

The contract award comes as Saipem's planned integration with Subsea 7, announced in 2025 and valued at approximately $4.6 billion (€4.23 billion), is expected to close in the second half of 2026. The combined entity would employ approximately 45,000 people globally and carry a backlog of $45.2 billion (€41.6 billion).

Explore the full contract details and project scope.