Aramco Finds New Gas Reserves in Jafurah Field

Saudi Aramco, the Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil major, has made a ground breaking discovery in its onshore unconventional Jafurah Field, adding 15 trillion standard cubic feet (TSCF) of gas and 2 billion barrels of condensate to its reserves.

According to media reports citing Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy, the resources at Jafurah are now estimated at 229 trillion standard cu ft of gas and 75 billion barrels of condensates with this find.

This strategic discovery not only increases the total reserves in Jafurah but also underscores Saudi Arabia’s positioning in the natural gas sector amid its ongoing energy transition efforts, the reports said.

The ministry emphasised that Aramco’s adherence to the highest international standards in estimating and developing hydrocarbon resources has ensured the proper exploitation of these resources.

Jafurah is considered the biggest shale gas reserve in the Middle East and it holds around 200 TSCF of natural gas underground, which could help cut emissions and serve as a source for cleaner fuels in the future.

Major Gas Producer

This increase is expected to make Saudi Arabia a major global gas producer, diversifying its energy mix and allowing it to stockpile substantial gas reserves for export. This shift reflects the Kingdom’s ambition to be recognized as an all-encompassing energy producer, not just reliant on oil.

Dr Mohammed Suroor Al-Sabban, a former senior advisor at the Saudi Ministry of Energy, emphasised the importance of this increase, noting it aligns with the Kingdom’s goals of energy diversification.

He highlighted that this new find will solidify Saudi Arabia’s position as a leading energy producer and enhances global interest in its energy sector and its role in electricity generation and water desalination.

He stressed that Saudi Arabia’s large gas reserve will make it a significant player in the global market, especially with advancements in shale oil and gas technologies reducing production costs.

In August last year, the China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., also known as Sinopec, expressed interest in Saudi Arabia’s shale gas development project at Jafurah.

Two months later in October, South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering and Construction and Hyundai Engineering also signed a $2.4 billion contract with oil giant Saudi Aramco to build a gas processing plant at Jafurah.

According to Saudi Press Agency (SPA), studies were undertaken by an unnamed a major independent consulting company, specialised in the field of resource approval, according to the statement from the Ministry of Energy.

Saudi Arabia has indicated it would press on with exploration work for gas and the Kingdom’s expanding power mix, where gas is set to replace oil burn with additional input from solar and wind capacities was also a determinant in the cancellation of its planned expansion.

Aramco’s unconventional gas program is set to displace up to 500,000 b/d of crude oil used in domestic energy consumption and plans to expand gas production by 50% by 2030.

Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser told reporters on a fortnight ago that savings from the cancellation of 1 million barrels per day capacity expansion will be redirected toward developing gas projects in the Kingdom as well as maintaining oil capacity potential. “There is a huge expansion in gas. There is a lot of ambition for liquid-to-chemicals,” Nasser said.