OREANDA-NEWS. January 16, 2014. Saudi Aramco moved forward on a new project as it signed contracts, with two of the world’s leading engineering and construction companies for the Shaybah Arabian Extra Light (AXL) Crude Increment Project.

This puts the Shaybah Oil and Power Generation on track to a new production plateau of 1 million barrels per day of Arab Extra Light crude oil.

The Central Processing Facility Expansion contract was awarded to the Korean EPC Contractor Samsung Engineering Co. Ltd.

The scope of work includes expanding the existing facility at Shaybah GOSPs 1, 3 and 4 to increase their total handling capacity by 250,000 barrels of AXL crude. At GOSP 4, three gas oil separators and one wet crude handling train will be added along with the associated charge, disposal and shipping pumps, intermediate and booster gas compressor and all associated utilities. The project will also install additional oil transfer facilities with associated utilities at GOSPs 1 and 3. This expansion to the oil facilities is targeted to be completed by April 2016, which by then will reinforce the company’s international role in responding reliably to future oil market demand.

Shandong Electrical Power Construction Co., based in Beijing, China, was selected for the Shaybah Combined Cycle Facility Package. The scope of work in this package includes converting the existing six simple cycle gas generators to two blocks (three each) of combined cycle power generation.

Each block will be coupled with a 120 MW steam turbine generator to produce a total of 240 MW of power from wasted heat. The conversion will include retrofitting the Gas Turbine Generator (GTG) with six once-through steam generators along with an associated cooling and water treatment facility, a new 13.8 KV substation and expansion of the existing 230 KV Gas Insulated Switchgear substation, new process interface building, as well as other auxiliary systems.

The remaining contract for infrastructure facilities is planned to be awarded in January 2014 and will expand the existing Shaybah Residential Industrial Camp capacity and support facilities.

The Shaybah AXL Crude Increment Project is part of the ongoing mega-development of the Shaybah NGL Recovery Program, which includes nine other major contracts that are under way, to be completed by the end of 2014.