Aramco said to receive bids for Hawiyah gas plant expansion

Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Saudi Aramco), the world’s largest crude exporter, has received bids for the main contract of Hawiyah gas plant expansion project, which is estimated to cost between $1and 1.3 billion, MEED has reported, citing unnamed sources.

The project is expected to boost Hawiyah gas plant output by 1.36 billion cubic feet per day (cfd) of gas.

The project is a part of a bigger debottlenecking plan in Hawiyah and Haradh at an estimated value of $4.5 billion.

Hawiyah gas plant currently processes 2.5 billion cfd of gas.

Raising gas production is key to Saudi Arabia's plan to diversify its energy mix by cutting its use of crude oil and liquids for power generation, according to earlier news reports.

It was reported in January that Aramco asked companies to express their interests in participating in bidding for these projects while the actual bidding was expected to start in March.