BEIJING: A Sinopec service unit said on Thursday it has signed a 7.956 billion yuan ($1.10 billion) deal to build natural gas pipelines for Saudi Aramco. The contract is for Sinopec Oilfield Service Co. to procure and construct the third-phase of the Master Gas System in Saudi Arabia, the Chinese firm said. Sinopec will build parts of the pipeline grid that includes trunk lines with a total length of 2,630 km and 1,340 km of branch lines, part of Aramco’s plan to expand gas distributions across the Kingdom. Under the deal, Sinopec is expected to complete construction by end of May 2027, the company said. Earlier this year, Aramco has awarded contracts worth more than $3.3 billion to 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.”