LNG

Baker Hughes, the US liquefied natural gas equipment-maker and energy services and technology company, was awarded a contract from Algerian state-owned oil and gas company Sonatrach for a gas-boosting project to supply Italy and the European Union.

The project is in the Hassi R’Mel gas field in Laghouat province of central Algeria, which produces and supplies over half of the North African nation’s natural gas.

The giant Hassi R’Mel field had been in long-term decline but this new venture is aimed at increasing gas volumes.

The project will also increase and stabilize feed-gas supplies to the Mediterranean Coast from the Hassi R'Mel hub to the port of Arzew where one of the nation’s two LNG exports plants is located. in Algeria.

System support

Baker Hughes is part of a consortium with Italian engineering company Maire Tecnimont that will supply Sonatrach with 20 compression trains to enhance the resilience of Algeria’s energy system.

“The agreement strengthens Italy-Algeria bilateral relations as Baker Hughes and Tecnimont will leverage their Italian industrial expertise to deliver on the project,” said a statement.

The contract is part of a broader order awarded to the consortium.

The signing ceremony for the contract took place in Algiers in the presence of the three company Chief Executives Rachid Hachichi of Sonatrach, Lorenzo Simonelli of Baker Hughes and Alessandro Bernini of the Maire Tecnimont group as well as Mohamed Arkab, Algeria’s Minister of Energy and Mines.

The part of Baker Hughes award comprises the supply of the 20 compression trains based on the US company’s Frame 5 gas turbine and BCL compressor technology, which will be installed across three gas boosting stations within the Hassi R’ Mel gas field.

The field is located 550 kilometres south of Algiers and is the largest gas field in Algeria and will a key source of energy supply for Algeria and the EU.

Key project

Baker Hughes CEO Simonelli said the agreement is part of an historic collaboration with Sonatrach for key energy projects.

“We have long believed that it is critical to increase gas within the overall global energy mix,” added Simonelli.

“This project helps to solve for energy producers the multi-faceted challenge of driving sustainable energy development as energy demand increases,” the CEO explained.

“ We are proud to support such a critical energy project in partnership with Tecnimont,” Simonelli stated.

Algeria became the second-largest gas supplier to Europe in 2023, further strengthening the country’s role in enhancing the energy security of the continent, particularly in Italy where Algeria represents the biggest single source of import.

The Hassi R’ Mel project is part of a broader strategic collaboration between Algeria and Italy, which includes recently signed agreements to foster bilateral cooperation and for Italy to provide financial support for Algeria’s gas production.

TotalEnergies, the French major and a leading global LNG project developer and investor, has awarded engineering, procurement and construction contracts to five companies for the $11 billion Amiral complex project, a world-scale petrochemicals facility expansion at the Satorp refinery in Saudi Arabia as part of a joint venture with Saudi Aramco.

The facility will house the largest mixed-load steam cracker in the Gulf with capacity to produce 1.65 million tons of ethylene and other industrial gases per annum.

Aramco and TotalEnergies have teamed up for this project as the French energy developer also prepares multi-billion dollar investments in LNG joint ventures in the Gulf state of Qatar as well as in Mozambique and the US.

Gulf presence

QatarEnergy selected TotalEnergies as a key international partner in both the North Field South (NFS) liquefaction venture and the North Field East (NFE) project that will take Qatar’s production to 126 million tonnes per annum of LNG.

In addition, the French major is also the operator of the large-scale onshore LNG project in Mozambique that is also moving forward and was recently chosen to partner NextDecade Corp. of the US for the Rio Grande LNG export venture in Texas.

For the Saudi refinery project, the EPC contracts signing ceremony took place in Dhahran in Saudi Arabia attended by Aramco President and Chief Executive Amin H. Nasser and his TotalEnergies counterpart Patrick Pouyanné.

“The award of EPC contracts for the main process units and associated utilities marks the start of construction work on this joint project, following the final investment decision in December 2022,” said TotalEnergies.

Aramco ‘s Nasser said the company was taking a major step forward in further strengthening the partnership between TotalEnergies and Aramco.

“As part of Aramco’s growth strategy, the project is anticipated to contribute to value-addition opportunities in the Kingdom’s downstream ecosystem, and we thank the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Investment for their tremendous support via the Shareek program to make this multi-billion-dollar project a reality,” Nasser stated.

The Kingdom's Shareek program aims to unlock 5 trillion Saudi riyals (US$1.35 trillion) of private-sector investments by 2030, raising private-sector GDP contributions to 65 percent and to increase non-oil exports over time from 16 percent to 50 percent

Integrated

The Saudi Amiral project will be integrated with the existing Satorp refinery in Jubail and the new petrochemical complex is expected to attract more than $4 billion in additional investment in a variety of industrial sectors and create thousands of jobs.

“This expansion reinforces the exemplary relationship that our two companies have enjoyed for several decades,” Pouyanné said.

The EPC contracts list includes South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. to work on a mixed feed cracker and utilities project for related industrial gases and flaring and interconnecting systems that support the main packages.

The Rome, Italy-based company Maire Tecnimont won the contract for two polyethylene units using Advanced Dual Loop technology and the derivative units.

Sinopec Engineering Group Saudi Co. was put in charge of the tank farm and Satorp integration.

Among regional companies, Gulf Consolidated Contractors Co. will work on the transfer pipelines, Mohammed Ali Al-Suwailem Trading & Contracting will build industrial support facilities and Mofarreh Marzouq Al Harbi & Partners is in charge of site preparations.