In the desert hinterland of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, a winding east-west pipeline tightly connects the eastern oil fields with the Red Sea export terminal. The safe operation of this energy artery has long relied on the security barriers built by engineering companies in Europe, America, Japan, and South Korea. But on July 16, 2026, this barrier was torn open - Saudi Aramco awarded all four construction sections of the East West Pipeline Fence Phase II project to a Chinese company, Shandong Electric Power Construction, in one go. This is the first time that a Chinese engineering enterprise has entered the core supporting project of the Saudi Aramco brownfield project as a general contractor.

Four sections will be awarded as a whole at once

The Saudi Aramco East West Pipeline Fence Phase II project covers four construction sections, radiating 11 booster stations, two pressure reduction stations, seven refineries, and two terminal receiving stations within Saudi Arabia, covering core energy plant areas such as Medina, Rastanula, Bugag, Hulis, and Yanbu. It is extremely rare for Saudi Aramco to award the four sections originally planned to be split and awarded to Shandong Electric Power Construction as a whole at once. The construction period is only five months, fully reflecting Saudi Aramco's high recognition of Shandong Electric Power Construction's comprehensive performance ability.

High threshold barriers for brownfield projects

The brownfield project in Saudi Aramco's project system refers to the renovation, expansion, and maintenance projects carried out on existing oil and gas facilities, with complex construction environments and strict safety standards. Contractors must pass the Saudi Aramco contract compliance qualification review, and operators must hold recognized explosion-proof qualifications. For a long time, these projects have been monopolized by leading companies in Europe, America, Japan, and South Korea. Shandong Electric Power Construction won the bid and undertook four sections at once, which means that Chinese companies have the ability to compete head-on with European, American, Japanese, and Korean companies in brownfield projects. Keywords: Middle East news and information, Chinese enterprises undertaking construction, technology going global

The confidence behind the five month construction period

The five month construction period may seem tight, but as a subsidiary facility construction along the pipeline, the fence project adopts a segmented parallel operation method, and the construction area is scattered in multiple core factories in Saudi Arabia, which is conducive to parallel construction of multiple sections. Shandong Electric Power Construction has been deeply involved in the Saudi Arabian market for many years, relying on a solid local performance foundation. By the first quarter of 2025, three large-scale combined cycle power plant projects will be completed in Saudi Arabia, with a total contract amount exceeding 2.1 billion US dollars. The performance records of these large-scale projects are the direct credit basis for Saudi Aramco to include them in the shortlist of brownfield projects. The equipment and material procurement window will soon be opened, covering categories such as fences, security gates, monitoring systems, etc.Editor/Gao Xue