Table of Contents
| Project at a Glance | |
| Project Name | Master Gas System Expansion Phase 3 (MGS-3) |
| Project Type | Brownfield |
| Project Location | Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia |
| Sector | Oil and Gas |
| Subsector | Midstream: Gas Pipeline |
| Owner | Saudi Aramco |
| Pipeline Length | 4153 Km |
| Phase 3 Capacity | 3.2 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day |
| Number of EPC work packages | 17 |
| Project Cost | USD 18 billion |
| Project Status | Under Construction |
| Construction Start Date | Q2 2024 |
| Project Completion Date | Q4 2028 |
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Master Gas System Expansion Phase 3 (MGS-3): Project Overview
The Master Gas System Expansion Phase 3 (MGS-3) is one of the largest oil and gas pipeline projects in Saudi Arabia owned by Saudi Aramco, one of the top oil and gas companies in Saudi Arabia. This major brownfield project, with a total pipeline length of 4153 km aims to enhance Saudi Arabia’s non-associated gas, unconventional gas, and related condensate reserves.
The Master Gas System Expansion Phase 3 is located in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. MGS-3 will expand the system’s capacity to an additional 3.2 billion standard cubic feet per day. The project is being executed through 17 EPC work packages. Construction commenced in the second quarter of 2024, and the project is scheduled for completion by the fourth quarter of 2028.
Project Scope
The project scope includes the installation of 4153 km of gas transport pipelines across the east-west corridor and increasing the network capacity to 15.7 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day. The project involves upgrading existing gas compression systems and installing new compressors. Aramco also awarded another 15 lump sum turnkey contracts worth a combined USD 8.8 billion.
Here is the table explaining the scope of Master Gas System Expansion Phase 3:
| Phase 3 Package No. | Project Scope |
| 1 | Upgrade existing BGCS-1, BGCS-3, and BGCS-5 by adding 8 compression trains (3 in BGCS-1, 2 in BGCS-3, 3 in BGCS-5). Expand accommodation facilities at EWPS-1 and EWPS-5. |
| 2 | Construct a new BGCS-10 with 10 compression trains. Expand accommodation facilities at EWPS-10. |
| 3 | Lay 56-inch diameter pipelines (EWGP-3 and EWGP-4) from EWPS-1 to Shedgum (56km). |
| 4 | Lay 56-inch diameter pipelines (EWGP-3 and EWGP-4) from EWPS-1 to EWPS-3 (300km). |
| 5 | Lay 56-inch diameter pipelines (EWGP-3 and EWGP-4) from EWPS-3 to EWPS-4 (166 km). |
| 6 | Lay 56-inch diameter pipelines (EWGP-3 and EWGP-4) from EWPS-4 to EWPS-6 (370 km). |
| 7 | Lay 56-inch diameter pipelines (EWGP-3 and EWGP-4) from EWPS-6 to EWPS-8 (340km). |
| 8 | Lay 56-inch diameter pipelines (EWGP-3 and EWGP-4) from EWPS-8 to EWPS-10 (480 km). |
| 9 | Lay 56-inch diameter pipeline (EWJZG-1) from BGCS-10 to Sector One STS-2 (458 km). |
| 10 | Lay 56-inch diameter pipeline (EWJZG-1) from Sector One STS-2 to Sector Two STS-1 (310km). |
| 11 | Lay 56-inch diameter pipeline (EWJZG-1) from Sector Two STS-1 to Shoqaiq (462 km). |
| 12 | Lay various diameter lateral pipelines (16-inch, 12-inch, 4-inch) in the Eastern Province and Qassim region (116km). |
| 13 | Lay various diameter lateral pipelines (16-inch, 12-inch, 10-inch, 4-inch) in the Riyadh cluster (470km). |
| 14 | Lay various diameter lateral pipelines (56-inch, 16-inch, 10-inch) in the Shoaiba cluster (212 km). |
| 15 | Lay various diameter lateral pipelines (20-inch, 16-inch, 12-inch, 4-inch) from Yanbu to Rabigh (192km). |
| 16 | Lay a pipeline to serve customers in the Jeddah area (52km). |
| 17 | Lay lateral pipelines (30-inch and 16-inch) in the Jizan cluster (169 km). |
Master Gas System Expansion Phase 3 (MGS-3): Project Background
Saudi Arabia’s Master Gas System (MGS) is one of the world's largest hydrocarbon networks, and it was developed to optimize the use of the kingdom’s vast gas reserves. The original Master Gas System was constructed in the mid-1970s and has been operational since 1982. The gas system was primarily designed to transport associated gas from the Ghawar field to industrial hubs, reducing gas flaring using the latest industrial energy technology.
Saudi Arabia started to monetize its gas reserves in the 1970s, and the Master Gas System Expansion (MGSE) was implemented in multiple phases to integrate non-associated and unconventional gas reserves into the network.
By the 2000s, Saudi Aramco intended to gather all the associated gas flared until then from the crude oil fields production. Saudi Aramco designed the first phases of the Master Gas System (MGS), crossing from Yanbu on the Red Sea to Shedgum and passing by Riyadh.
Aramco signing ceremony for Master Gas System III contracts in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, on June 30, 2024
Master Gas System Expansion Phase 2 (MGS-2)
The second expansion phase of the MGS (MGS-2) was started in 2015. In 2016, local contractor Arkad Engineering & Construction won the three main pipeline packages of MGS-2, worth an estimated USD 1.3 billion. EPC works were completed in 2021, increasing the MGS’s gas handling and transport capacity from 8.4 billion cubic feet a day (cf/d) to 12.5 billion cf/d.
Master Gas System Expansion Phase 3 (MGS-3)
The MGS Phase 3 project is a key element in the expansion of the Kingdom’s extensive gas pipeline. The project will supply additional gas to power plants, facilitating the conversion of multiple facilities from oil to natural gas. In July 2024, Aramco awarded EPC works worth USD 900 million to Indian company Kalpataru and 15 others on the third expansion phase.
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The Booster Gas Compression Station project within the MGS expansion will further increase the East-West Pipeline system’s capacity. And it will deliver sales gas efficiently across the country, leveraging artificial intelligence and advanced gas compression technology. The MGS Phase 3 expansion, in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, will help the transition from crude oil dependency to a cleaner energy mix.
Jafurah Gas Field Expansion Phase 3
The MGS Phase 3 expansion will integrate gas from the USD 110 billion Jafurah development, the kingdom’s largest non associated gas production project. In February 2025, the third expansion phase of Aramco’s Jafurah gas field reached an advance contract with Baker Hughes Solutions, a leading energy technology company for six gas compression trains and six propane compressors.
Also, Baker Hughes will supply 17 pipeline centrifugal compressors driven by state-of-the-art aeroderivative gas turbines for Aramco's project. The key order was placed by the Spanish group Tecnicas Reunidas and was booked in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Master Gas System Expansion Phase 3 Location
Source: Energy Intelligence
Master Gas System Expansion Phase 3 is located in the Eastern Province in various regions across Saudi Arabia, including the central and western areas.
The project is divided into 17 packages, each focusing on different segments of the pipeline network:
| Phase 3 Package No. | Location |
| 1 | BGCS-1, BGCS-3, BGCS-5 (East-West Pipeline Corridor) |
| 2 | Near EWPS-10 (Western side of East-West Pipeline Corridor) |
| 3 | EWPS-1 to Shedgum (56 km) |
| 4 | EWPS-1 to EWPS-3 (300 km) |
| 5 | EWPS-3 to EWPS-4 (166 km) |
| 6 | EWPS-4 to EWPS-6 (370 km) |
| 7 | EWPS-6 to EWPS-8 (340 km) |
| 8 | EWPS-8 to EWPS-10 (480 km) |
| 9 | BGCS-10 to Sector One STS-2 (458 km) |
| 10 | Sector One STS-2 to Sector Two STS-1 (310km) |
| 11 | Sector Two STS-1 to Shoqaiq (462 km) |
| 12 | Eastern Province and Qassim Region Clusters (116 km) |
| 13 | Riyadh Cluster (470 km) |
| 14 | Shoaiba Cluster (212 km) |
| 15 | Yanbu to Rabigh (192 km) |
| 16 | Jeddah Area (52 km) |
| 17 | Jizan Cluster (169 km) |
Master Gas System Expansion Phase 3: Project Cost
The estimated cost of the Master Gas System Expansion Phase 3 pipeline project by Saudi Aramco is USD 18 billion.
Contractors Involved
Here's the table of EPC contractors for the Saudi Master Gas Expansion 3 project:
| Package No. | EPC Contractor | Country |
| 1 | China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Company | China |
| 2 | Sepco | China |
| 3 & 12 | Gas Arabian | Saudi Arabia |
| 4 & 9 | Mapa | Turkey |
| 5 | Bin Quraya | Saudi Arabia |
| 6 & 7 | Sinopec Petroleum Services | China |
| 8 | Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon | India |
| 10 & 14 | Nesma & Partners / Sicim | Saudi Arabia / Italy |
| 11 | Max Streicher | Germany |
| 13, 15 & 17 | Kalpataru Power Transmission | India |
| 16 | Tekfen Construction & Installations Co. Inc. | Turkey |
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Project Benefits
Aramco’s Master Gas System network aims to enhance access to domestic gas supplies, providing industries, utilities, and other sectors with a lower-emission alternative to oil production for power generation. This extensive pipeline network has played a key role in achieving near-zero routine gas flaring, maintaining a flare volume of less than 1% of total raw gas production since 2012. Master Gas System III will meet the rising gas demand in the kingdom and reduce carbon emissions due to oil production.
Project Construction Timeline
Project Status
In January 2025, Aramco provided Shandong Greenism Environmental Protection Technology Company with a contract for sewage treatment services for the third expansion phase of Saudi Aramco’s Master Gas System project.
As of January 2025, the on-site activities of the gas project have commenced. The Master Gas System Phase 3 expansion is part of USD 25 billion to advance Saudi Arabia’s strategic gas expansion. The country targets sales gas production growth of more than 60% by 2030 compared to 2021 levels.
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