Saudi oil and gas contractor Arkad Engineering & Construction (E&C) has completed work on a pipeline package, part of Saudi Aramco’s $3bn Khurais increment project, on schedule.

MEED reported in September that Arkad E&C, a subsidiary of Saudi engineering conglomerate Arkad Group, was on course to complete the job, which involves building a 250-kilometre pipeline between the Mazalij and Abu Jifan oil fields, by the end of November.

“The pipeline job was completed on time, and the structure is being commissioned as we speak,” said one source.

Arkad E&C was awarded the estimated $250m engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract in January 2015.

The objective of the Khurais programme is to increase production capacity at the Khurais central processing facilities (CPF) by 300,000 barrels a day (b/d) of oil, from its current capacity of 1.2 million b/d, as well as to enhance production from the Mazalij and Abu Jifan fields by installation of a satellite gas oil separation plant (GOSP).

Khurais is located adjacent to the Ghawar oil field, one of the world’s largest and located in the kingdom’s Eastern Province.

The field began operations in 2009 and produces 1.2 million b/d of Arabian light crude, 320 million cubic feet a day (cf/d) of gas and 80,000 b/d of natural gas liquids (NGLs).

Italian contractor Saipem is performing the EPC works to expand the central processing facilities at the Khurais development, the main package within the Khurais increment programme.

Saipem was awarded the $2bn contract in early 2015.

“Since they [Saipem] are not near to finishing their job anytime soon, they are trying to finalise the satellite GOSP [at Khurais], so that production can start,” the source said.