Aramco’s gas development ambitions have been further strengthened with the announcement that it has boosted reserves by 15 trillion standard cubic feet (scf) of raw gas and two billion stock tank barrels (STB) of condensate at the Jafurah unconventional gas field
Jafurah is the largest liquid-rich shale gas play in the Middle East, which the company now estimates contains a total resource of 229 trillion scf of raw gas, alongside an estimated 75bn STB of condensate.
The field is currently being developed, with initial production expected to commence in 2025 and plans to ramp up to reach a sustainable sales gas rate of two billion scfd by 2030, in addition to significant volumes of ethane, Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) and condensate.
Strategy to increase gas production
Aramco’s strategy is to increase gas production by more than half over 2021 levels, through 2030, subject to domestic demand. The company plans to further expand its gas business, including the development of its unconventional gas resources, increasing production and investing in additional infrastructure to meet the large and growing domestic demand for lower-cost energy. Domestic gas demand growth is driven by power generation, water desalination, petrochemical production, and other industrial consumption in the Kingdom.
Amin H. Nasser, Aramco president & CEO, said, “This achievement enhances the Kingdom’s hydrocarbon wealth through proven reserves of gas, which is a vital resource for the energy and chemicals industries. Aramco’s upstream business is deploying state-of-the-art technologies including advanced modelling and artificial intelligence to make tangible progress in developing Jafurah, which is one of the company’s growth engines and an important economic resource for the Kingdom. The field represents a key element in our ambitious strategy to increase Aramco’s gas production.”
