Baker Hughes Supplies Compressors, Turbines for Saudi Arabia’s Master Gas System

Worley, on behalf of Aramco, submitted an order to Baker Hughes for the supply of gas technology equipment for the third phase of Saudi Arabia’s Master Gas System project that includes a new 4,000-km pipeline. Baker Hughes will deliver 17 pipeline centrifugal compressors driven by aeroderivative gas turbines as part of this award, which was booked in Q1 2024.

“For over 30 years, Baker Hughes has been a trusted partner in natural gas operations, and our long-standing partnership with Aramco is helping to reduce emissions by transitioning to gas,” said Lorenzo Simonelli, Chairman and CEO of Baker Hughes. “Baker Hughes solutions are advancing the efficient use of natural gas, and we are proud to be delivering a reliable system to transport and distribute gas across Saudi Arabia.”

Saudi Arabia’s new 4,000 km pipeline will assist in the country’s energy transition and is expected to increase domestic gas distribution and contribute to the reduction of oil consumption and carbon emissions. Previously, Baker Hughes supplied 18 gas turbine-driven centrifugal compressors for Phase 1 and 2 of the Master Gas System projects.

Pipeline under construction in Saudi Arabia; Image Credits: Aramco Americas

“Saudi Arabia is in a unique position to ease the pressures of the energy trilemma with its vast supply of gas,” said Yahya Abu Shal, Senior Vice President, Project Management at Aramco. “Our collaboration with Baker Hughes has been greatly successful for many years. Their technologies have been used for Phase 1 and 2 of the Master Gas System, and we look forward to continuing our work together to decarbonize critical industries across Saudi Arabia.”

In addition to supplying gas equipment for Aramco’s project, Baker Hughes is investing in the expansion of its manufacturing site in Modon, Saudi Arabia. The expansion includes doubling the capacity of its workforce and enabling the site to support the delivery of projects in the Kingdom with localized testing and packaging solutions.

Baker Hughes received another equipment order from Black & Veatch in April 2024 for the Cedar LNG project in Kitimat, British Columbia, Canada. Booked in Q1 2024, Baker Hughes will supply 12 pieces of turbomachinery equipment: four electric-driven main refrigeration compressors, two electric-driven boil-off gas compressors, and six centrifugal pumps.

“Black & Veatch is committed to helping our clients and the communities they serve make meaningful progress on their decarbonization journey,” said Laszlo von Lazar, President of Black & Veatch’s Energy & Process Industries business. “The Cedar LNG project represents an important step toward reducing carbon emissions through lower-carbon LNG facilities that can supply customers looking to move away from more carbon-intensive feedstocks. This is an important aspect of near-term decarbonization plans around the world, and Canada’s abundant natural gas supply means Cedar LNG is in a strong position to accelerate this phase of the energy transition.”

The company was also recently awarded a contract from Snam to provide three NovaLT12 gas-turbine-driven compressor trains for a gas compressor station in Sulmona, Italy. The turbines can run on 100% natural gas or hydrogen blends of up to 10%.