Saudi Aramco has launched a new set of offshore maintenance and brownfield projects, tendering billions of dollars worth of work to its long-term agreement (LTA) contractors. This move aligns with the company's previously announced long-term capital expenditure strategy, which emphasizes heavy investment in upstream projects, particularly gas-based developments.

New Project Tenders

Aramco recently issued five contract release purchase orders (CRPOs 167 to 171) to LTA contractors. The workscope is substantial, and the bidding process is expected to gain momentum in the coming months. These projects represent the first batch of offshore engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) projects tendered by Aramco in 2026 and are anticipated to be highly competitive.

The specific projects involve work across several key oil and gas fields:

• CRPO 167: Involves eight offshore platform jackets for the Marjan, Zuluf, Abu Safah, and Safaniyah fields.
• CRPO 168: Covers the EPCI of four large production deck modules (PDMs) for the Abu Safah, Manifa, Berri, and Safaniyah fields.
• CRPOs 169 & 170: Involve at least three PDMs for the Marjan oilfield.
• CRPO 171: Involves three additional PDMs for the Zuluf oilfield.

Robust LTA Market Context

This activity follows a strong year for Aramco's LTA contracting market in 2025, which saw billions of dollars in awards, making it one of the strongest years on record. Past awards include CRPOs 162 and 165 to Saipem and multiple offshore EPCI deals to Lamprell. While the LTA market has typically averaged $2 billion to $3 billion annually, it outperformed in 2025 due to multibillion-dollar contracts for the Zuluf oilfield incremental project.

Future Outlook

Industry leaders and analysts expect the robust activity to continue. The LTA framework is seen as a stable source of future work, with contractors constantly participating in new opportunities. The driving factors behind this sustained investment are Aramco's need to offset production decline from mature onshore fields by boosting offshore output and its goal of maintaining a total production capacity of 12 million barrels per day, which will require consistent brownfield expenditure on offshore assets.