Samsung Engineering will participate in Saudi Arabia's first shale gas development project.

The company announced in its public disclosure on November 23 that it had signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company Aramco on November 22 for the Jafurah natural gas processing package. The company did not disclose the amount of the contract, but industry insiders estimated it to be $1.2 billion.

The project is part of the development of the Jafurah shale gas field located 400 kilometers east of Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Samsung Engineering has been responsible for the construction of a gas treatment facility that produces high-purity gas by removing acid gases (such as sulfur compounds and impurities) from the gas mixture.

The Jafurash gas field is the first shale gas field in the Middle East Kingdom, with estimated reserves of 200 trillion square feet. Saudi Arabia's goal is to become the world's third largest producer of shale gas.