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A massive discovery at one of Saudi Arabia’s largest gas fields is expected to largely boost its revenues and turn the Gulf Kingdom into a major gas exporter, a former adviser at the Saudi Oil Ministry has said.
Oil giant Saudi Aramco announced on Sunday it has revised up its gas deposits in the sprawling Jafurah field in Eastern Saudi Arabia by nearly 15 trillion cubic feet (tcf), pushing up its total deposits to nearly 229 trillion tcf.
It also reported an increase in condensates by nearly two billion barrels to a total 75 billion barrels at the field, which, at nearly 17,000 sq km, is almost equivalent to the area of neighboring Kuwait.
“This is a very important increase as it comes at a time when Saudi Arabia is seeking to diversify sources of income and energy…the Kingdom needs this such an increase to start exporting gas instead of consuming most of the production in local petrochemical units and other facilities,” Mohammed Al-Sabban, an ex-adviser at the Oil Ministry, told the Saudi Arabic language daily Asharqalawsat.
The paper quoted another well-known Saudi energy expert as saying the new addition could turn Saudi Arabia into the world’s third largest gas producer within a few years.
“It will also support Saudi Arabia’s position as a pioneer in the global energy industry..this increase will also turn Aramco into the largest integrated energy and petrochemicals company in the world,” Tariq Al-Ateeq said.
(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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