Recently, global energy giant Saudi Aramco officially announced the award of the Zuluf Oilfield Water Treatment Phase II Expansion Project, with a total contract amount of up to 940 million US dollars. The landing of this major infrastructure order is only a few days away from the trial operation of the first phase of the project. Such a tight pace has boosted the international energy market - Saudi Arabia's strategic determination to accelerate the production of heavy offshore oil fields and seize the global energy market has become clear.

Processing capacity exceeds 300000 cubic meters

The Zuluf water treatment expansion project signed this time is the core focus of Saudi Aramco's recent upstream supporting projects. After the completion and operation of the second phase project, the overall water treatment capacity of the project will be increased to 308000 cubic meters per day, significantly breaking the record for the scale of specialized water treatment in regional oil fields. The first phase has a production capacity of 185000 cubic meters per day and will be officially put into trial operation in July 2026. The second phase will add 123000 cubic meters per day, with a total investment scale of over 1.379 billion US dollars for both phases. The project is not an ordinary municipal water purification project, but a customized formation reinjection water treatment system for stable oil and gas production, which plays a decisive role in the release of oilfield production capacity.

Escort the main offshore oil fields

The water treatment project is located in the core energy area of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, 6 kilometers west of Tanajib Airport and 240 kilometers north of Dalan. It can efficiently radiate the Zuluf offshore heavy oil field 40 kilometers offshore. The core positioning of this water treatment system is very clear, fully ensuring stable and increased production of the oilfield. The project mainly deals with the high salinity groundwater generated by oilfield exploitation. After undergoing multiple professional processes such as degassing, sedimentation, fine filtration, and impurity removal, the clean water source is high-pressure injected back into the offshore reservoir formation through the pipeline network. This formation water injection process is a key technical means for oil and gas extraction, which can effectively maintain the pressure of underground oil layers, solve the problems of difficulty in extracting heavy crude oil and rapid decline in production capacity, and is the bottom card to ensure long-term stable and high production of oil fields. Keywords: Middle East news and information, oil and gas fields

Saudi Arabia's capacity expansion accelerates comprehensively

Zuluf Oilfield is the core offshore heavy oil and gas production area of Saudi Aramco, and an important supporting sector for Saudi Arabia's 2030 Vision Energy Industry Plan. Previously, the oil field had launched a large-scale capacity upgrade plan, aiming to significantly increase the daily crude oil production from 800000 barrels to 1.4 million barrels. With the continuous expansion of oilfield development scale, the original water treatment capacity of 185000 cubic meters per day can no longer meet the demand for increased production. The $940 million Phase II expansion project is a crucial step in breaking through the final supporting barriers for increasing oil production in the oilfield. The first phase of the project adopts the mature 25 year BOOT construction ownership operation transfer model in the industry, while the second phase of the project will continue to adhere to high standard construction standards and be constructed synchronously with offshore mining platforms, subsea pipelines, and onshore public works. The upstream supporting infrastructure for oil and gas in the Middle East is entering a period of centralized expansion, and in the future, related water treatment, pipeline, platform, and operation and maintenance supporting projects will continue to release massive bidding demands.Editor/Gao Xue