Aramco Absorbs 50% Stake in Hydrogen Production Business

Aramco will acquire a 50% equity interest in Air Products Qudra’s BHIG in Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia, per signed definitive agreements. The subsidiary transaction includes options for Aramco to offtake hydrogen and nitrogen. Aramco’s BHIG investment helps to establish a lower-carbon hydrogen network to serve domestic and regional customers in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.

“It is an honor to further extend Air Products Qudra’s partnership with Aramco, working to accelerate the hydrogen economy and driving the creation of the largest hydrogen network in the Middle East, which is expected to serve the refining, chemical, and petrochemical industries,” said Dr. Samir J. Serhan, Chairman of Air Products Qudra. “We look forward to providing our expertise in hydrogen and pipeline operations and supporting Aramco’s need for a reliable supply of blue hydrogen.”

Air Products Qudra (APQ), a joint venture between Air Products and Qudra Energy, will own a 50% stake upon transaction completion. BHIG is designed to produce lower-carbon hydrogen while capturing and storing CO₂, beginning commercial operations in line with Aramco’s carbon capture and storage (CCS) activities.

Signing ceremony between APQ and Aramco; Image Credits: Aramco

“This investment highlights Aramco’s ambition to expand its new energies portfolio and grow its lower-carbon hydrogen business,” said Ashraf Al Ghazzawi, Executive Vice President of Strategy & Corporate Development, Aramco. “We are delighted to partner with APQ on this journey and believe there are promising commercial opportunities for hydrogen with lower emissions. We intend to leverage our growing capabilities in CCS, as well as our technical expertise in hydrogen, with the ambition to support the foundations of a future energy system.”

In early July 2024, Aramco granted contracts worth over $25 billion to accelerate its strategic gas expansion projects—the Jafurah unconventional gas field, the Master Gas System, new gas rigs, and ongoing capacity maintenance. These projects will support the growth of Aramco’s gas, ethane, natural gas liquids (NGL), and condensate production.

Aramco awarded 16 contracts for phase-two Jafurah development valued at approximately $12.4 billion. Development work involves the construction of gas compression facilities and pipelines and expansions of the Jafurah Gas Plant, including gas processing trains and utilities, sulfur, and export facilities. The work also includes the construction of Riyas NGL fractionation facilities in Jubail—NGL fractionation trains and utilities, storage, and export facilities will process NGL received from Jafurah.

Fifteen lump-sum turnkey contracts were awarded for phase-three expansion of Aramco’s Master Gas System, valued at approximately $8.8 billion. The expansion increases the network’s size and raises total capacity by 3.15 billion standard cubic feet per day by 2028. Capacity buildout will be supported by installing approximately 4,000 km of pipelines and 17 gas compression trains.

In addition, Aramco granted 23 gas rig contracts worth $2.4 billion and two directional drilling contracts valued at $612 million. Between December 2022 and May 2024, the company awarded 13 well tie-in contracts for Jafurah worth $1.63 billion.

In June 2024, Aramco granted engineering, procurement, and construction contracts worth $7.7 billion to SAMSUNG Engineering Company, GS Engineering & Construction Corp., and Nesma & Partners for a major expansion of its Fadhili Gas Plant in eastern Saudi Arabia—the Fadhili Gas Plant Increment Project.