RIYADH: Aramco has awarded contracts worth more than $3.3 billion to Chinese company Sinopec and Spain’s Tecnicas Reunidas to build a gas facility in Saudi Arabia. According to a disclosure on the Spanish Stock Exchange, Sinopec will own 65 percent of the project and Tecnicas Reunidas will have a 35 percent share. The contract includes the development of a new facility in Saudi Arabia called Riyas natural gas liquids at the Jafurah unconventional gas production project. The statement added that the contracts cover engineering, procurement and construction, including the building of liquefied natural gas distillation facilities in the Al-Riyas project. They also include the provision of storage and export facilities. According to Aramco’s website, the Jafurah Gas Field contains an estimated 200 trillion standard cubic feet of natural gas, making it the largest such discovery in the Middle East The energy company described the development as “one of the most ambitious projects in Aramco’s history.” The deal marks the latest in a long history between Aramco and Sinopec, and in March 2023, the Chinese firm announced it would actively explore shale gas opportunities in Saudi Arabia.