South Korea's Hyundai, Saudi Aramco clinch $2.4 bln gas plant deal

Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co

24/10/2023 03:52

By Hyonhee Shin
       SEOUL, Oct 24 (Reuters) - South Korea's Hyundai
Engineering & Construction  000720.KS  and Hyundai Engineering
have signed a $2.4 billion contract with oil giant Saudi Aramco
 2222.SE  to build a gas processing plant, Seoul's presidential
office said on Tuesday. 
    The deal was signed on Monday in Riyadh at a ceremony to
mark 50 years of construction cooperation between the two
countries, with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attending
as part of his state visit to the kingdom. 
    The two builders, affiliates of Hyundai Motor Group, have
been working on the first phase of Aramco's Jafurah gas
processing facilities project after winning the order in 2021,
Hyundai said in a statement confirming the signing of the $2.4
billion contract on the second phase. 
    Jafurah is Saudi's largest unconventional non-oil associated
gas field, with reserves estimated at 200 trillion cubic feet
(5.7 trillion cubic metres) of raw gas. Aramco has said daily
output could reach around 2 billion cubic feet by 2030. 
    Yoon and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomed the
agreement in a joint statement after talks, pledging further
cooperation in construction and infrastructure, including on
Saudi Arabia's NEOM mega-city and Vision 2030 reform plans. 
    The joint statement also called for greater efforts to
prevent the escalation and spread of the conflict between Israel
and Hamas, and urged both sides to stop targeting civilians and
allow the "rapid and unimpeded delivery" of humanitarian aid. 
    State-run Korea National Oil Corp also clinched a storage
deal with Aramco during Yoon's visit that allows the Saudi
company to store 5.3 million barrels of oil in South Korea's
reserve facilities in the port of Ulsan for five years. 
    After a four-day stay in Riyadh, Yoon left for Doha on
Monday where he will attend an international horticultural expo
before holding a summit on Tuesday with Qatar's Emir Sheikh
Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, his office said.     

 (Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Tom Hogue)
 ((hyonhee.shin@thomsonreuters.com;))