SINGAPORE - State energy major Saudi Aramco plans to start exporting ​the first condensate produced from the Jafurah gas plant in February, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.

The $100 ⁠billion Jafurah project, estimated to contain 229 trillion standard cubic feet of raw gas and 75 billion barrels of condensate, ⁠is central ‌to Aramco's ambitions to become a major global natural gas player and boost its gas production capacity.

Its first phase started production early this month, the Saudi finance ministry said.

Aramco could export ⁠four to six 500,000-barrel cargoes of Jafurah condensate per month, one of the sources said, without giving a timeline. The other source said the condensate is being sold through private negotiations.

A third source said Aramco may provide samples to buyers by the end of the month. Aramco has not responded to a ⁠request for comment.

GRADE 'COULD COMPETE WITH HEAVIER CONDENSATES, ​ULTRA-LIGHT CRUDES'

Condensate is a non-gas liquid that can be processed at splitters to produce petrochemical feedstock naphtha and other refined products, or can be ‍blended with crude oil to be distilled at refineries.

The condensate has an API gravity of 49.7 degrees and contains about 0.17% sulphur, according ​to a preliminary crude assay reviewed by Reuters.

About 40% of its yield is petrochemical feedstock naphtha, mainly the heavier grade, while most of the rest of the output is gasoil and kerosene, the assay shows.

"The uncertainty now is how much would come out to the market in the next 6 to 12 months, and this appears to be a grade that would compete with heavier condensates and ultra-light crudes," Armaan Ashraf, global head of NGLs at consultancy FGE, said.

JAFURAH GAS OUTPUT TO BE USED DOMESTICALLY

Jafurah's gas output will be used for domestic power generation, freeing up crude for export that is currently used for power in the kingdom.

Aramco has said its unconventional ⁠gas programme at peak production is expected to generate electricity equivalent to displacing ‌500,000 barrels per day of oil.

Ashraf said Jafurah is positioned as a gas project, so it should not be counted in Saudi Arabia's OPEC output quota.

This year Saudi Aramco has lifted exports of Khuff condensate ‌produced in the ⁠eastern province of Saudi Arabia to 49,000 bpd, a jump from 18,000 bpd in 2024, data from analytics firm Kpler ⁠showed.

(Reporting by Florence Tan and Siyi Liu; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Jan Harvey)