National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC), a wholly-owned unit of Abu Dhabi-based National Marine Dredging Company, has secured contracts worth $673.2 million from Saudi Aramco for two key projects: Jafurah Development Programme and MNIF 14 Jackets project in the kingdom.

Jafurah is a key component of Aramco’s unconventional gas programme, which will help contribute to greenhouse gas emissions avoidance in the domestic energy sector.

With an estimated 200 trillion standard cubic feet (tcf) of gas in place, the Jafurah basin hosts the largest liquid-rich shale gas play in the Middle East.

Last year in November, Aramco had begun the development of the vast Jafurah unconventional gas field. It had even awarded subsurface and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts worth $10 billion for its development.

In a to Abu Dhabi bourse ADX, NPCC stated Aramco had awarded it a $460.2-million contract for the Jafurah development project, while the MNIF 14 Jackets project deal was worth $213 million.

This is NPCC's second big contract win from Saudi Aramco after the $2.23-billion Zuluf incremental project deal in January.

The Zuluf project award involves two packages. The giant offshore oilfield located 240 km north of Dhahran is undergoing a major expansion to add 550,000 to 600,000 bpd of oil.

The NPCC work is due for completion in 2025.