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Saudi Aramco is understood to be nearing a decision on contract awards for two key tenders that represent the next expansion phase of the Safaniya offshore oil field development.

Italian contractor Saipem is said to have emerged as the frontrunner to win the two tenders – numbers 154 and 155 on Aramco’s Contract Release and Purchase Order System (CRPO) – according to sources.

The combined contract value for CRPOs 154 and 155 is estimated at $600m, sources told MEED.

Saipem has already secured the contract for CRPO 156, valued at about $500m, which forms the third package in Aramco’s latest Safaniya expansion phase.

Aramco issued the three CRPOs to its Long-Term Agreement (LTA) pool of offshore contractors in February last year, with an initial bid submission deadline of 31 July. Aramco later extended the deadline to 28 August and then again to 31 August, with LTA contractors submitting bids on that date.

The brief scope of engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) work on the three tenders is as follows:

CRPO 154:

EPCI of a water injection tie-in platform; two production deck modules (PDMs)/wellhead platforms; associated pipelines; hook-ups; and subsea valve skids

CRPO 155:

EPCI of four PDMs; intra-field and main trunklines to shore; and jackets

CRPO 156:

EPCI of a 48-inch trunkline, covering a distance of roughly 65 kilometres offshore and 12km onshore, from the Safaniya offshore oil field to the onshore processing facility; plus associated structures such as subsea hook-ups.

The Safaniya field is the world’s largest offshore oil field, with a production capacity of nearly 1.2 million barrels a day (b/d). Discovered in 1951, the field is located in the Gulf waters, approximately 265 kilometres north of Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran.

Offshore contract awards galore

Aramco spent almost $11bn on offshore EPCI contracts last year, which is more than double its capital expenditure on offshore projects in 2024, marking yet another year of robust upstream project spending in Saudi Arabia.

In July, Aramco selected contractors for five CRPOs – numbers 150, 157, 158, 159 and 160 – worth over $3bn. These involve EPCI work and infrastructure upgrades at the Abu Safah, Berri, Manifa, Marjan and Zuluf offshore fields.

The Saudi energy giant then picked contractors for four more CRPOs that are part of the large-scale project to expand infrastructure at the Zuluf offshore field development. The tenders are CRPOs 145, 146, 147 and 148, and their combined value is estimated to be almost $6bn.

In late December last year, Saipem announced securing contracts for CRPOs 162 and 165. The scope of work on CRPO 162 covers the EPCI of two rigid pipelines – a 30-inch pipeline stretching 23.98km, and a 20-inch pipeline, 10.23km-long; replacement of a flexible 10-inch pipeline that spans 5.1km; along with modification work on topsides at the Berri and Abu Safah field developments. The duration of this contract is 32 months, Saipem said.

The scope of work on CRPO 165, lasting 12 months, includes subsea interventions at the Marjan field development and the EPCI of 300 metres of onshore pipeline and associated tie-ins.

MEED reported in early January this year that Aramco had selected US-based McDermott International for CRPO 166. The scope of work is understood to have been carved out of the major $15bn Marjan offshore field development project, as part of which Aramco issued contracts for 20 EPCI packages in 2019. McDermott won the largest share of work on the project, with an estimated $4.5bn-worth of contracts secured for two packages.

The contract for CRPO 166 was single-sourced to McDermott without a competitive tendering process, and issued as a change order, sources told MEED.

The contract award for CRPO 156 to Saipem was Aramco’s second offshore contract of this year.

Healthy contract award pipeline

Looking ahead, Aramco is evaluating bids it received from its offshore LTA contractors in July and August for at least three more tenders.

These tenders are CRPO 161, which covers the EPCI of four gas jackets at the Arabiyah, Hasbah and Karan fields; and CRPOs 163 and 164, relating to the EPCI of key infrastructure at the Abu Safah, Berri, Karan, Marjan and Safaniya fields.

MEED reported in January that Aramco had issued a new batch of five offshore tenders covering the EPCI of key structures at the Abu Safah, Berri, Manifa, Marjan and Zuluf fields, which are CRPOs 167, 168, 169, 170 and 171.

Aramco issued the five CRPOs to its offshore LTA contractors in December, initially setting a bid submission deadline of 3 February, which it later extended until 31 March, and then further until 1 June.

Aramco’s LTA pool of offshore service providers comprises the following entities:

• Saipem (Italy)
• McDermott International (US)
• Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (LTEH, India) / Subsea7 (UK)
• NMDC Energy (UAE)
• Lamprell (UAE/Saudi Arabia)
• China Offshore Oil Engineering Company (China)
• Dynamic Industries (US)
• Sapura Energy (Malaysia)
• TechnipFMC (France) / MMHE (Malaysia)
• Hyundai Heavy Industries (South Korea)

Aramco renewed its LTAs last April with the following contractors, whose contracts had either lapsed or were close to expiry:

• Saipem
• McDermott International
• Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon / Subsea7
• NMDC Energy
• Lamprell
• China Offshore Oil Engineering Company

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