International
Aramco enters the natural gas export club with the giant "Al Jafoura" field in the eastern region.
Published on : 2020-02-22
The Supreme Committee for Hydrocarbons held a meeting chaired by Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister yesterday, and reviewed the plans to develop the giant "Al-Jafoura" field in the eastern region which is the largest non-associated non-traditional gas field, discovered in Saudi Arabia with a length of 170 kilometers and width 100 km, and the volume of gas resources in its reservoir is estimated at 200 trillion cubic feet of wet gas, which contains gas liquids in the petrochemical industries and high-value condensate.
The Crown Prince praised the efforts of the national company "Saudi Aramco" in developing the field, with investments amounting to $ 110 billion (412 billion riyals), the stages of its development will gradually increase the field's production of gas to reach the completion of its development to 2.2 trillion cubic feet in 2036, representing About 25 percent of current production.
Because of the field’s characteristic, it will be able to produce about 130,000 barrels per day of ethane, representing about 40 percent of the current production, and about 500,000 barrels per day of gas liquids, and the condensate needed for the petrochemical industries representing about 34 percent of the current production.
Prince Muhammad bin Salman directed that the priority of allocating the field's production of gas and liquids to the local sectors be: Industry, Electricity, Water Desalination, Mining and others to keep pace with the ambitious growth rates according to "Vision 2030".
The crown prince indicated that the development of the field will achieve, for 22 years, from the beginning of its development, a net income for the government of about 8.6 billion dollars annually (32 billion riyals), and it provides the gross domestic product with an estimated 20 billion dollars (75 billion riyals) annually, and leads to direct job opportunities And indirectly to citizens in those sectors and others. The field will make the Kingdom one of the most important gas producers in the world, in addition to its position as the most important oil producer. Its development will be in addition to the Kingdom's programs in developing renewable energies to achieve the best mix of energy consumption locally, and support its record in protecting the environment and its sustainability.
The Crown Prince affirmed the keenness of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, to continue the efforts of development and economic diversification, to take advantage of the comparative advantages in the Kingdom and to strengthen its leading position in the global energy market. This comes a week after statements by Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Minister of Energy, during which he revealed Saudi Arabia entering the field of gas export in the near future, indicating that the Kingdom aspires to the optimal exploitation of carbon resources of oil and gas, whether resources are conventional or unconventional, what happens is a shift Quality in the energy sector and in the economy in general.
During his speech at the "SABIC 2020 conference" in Jubail last week, under the title "Fourth Generation of Chemicals", he hinted at an important announcement soon; by what he described as "the decision-maker", it would be a pride for everyone who worked in the energy field, especially at Aramco Saudi.
Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman talked about the programs and initiatives adopted by the Ministry of Energy in the Kingdom's Vision 2030, explaining that the available oil - as a result of the country's dependence on renewable energy sources - will be directed to the petrochemical industries to contribute to the production of renewable energy and polymeric materials used in wind turbines. He pointed to the Ministry of Energy's support for integration between the petroleum and petrochemical industries, and working with companies to expand their business and increase the production of specialized materials, in a way that supports the manufacturing industries. He added, “This is what Aramco, SABIC, Sadara and Petro Rabigh are doing with increasing its market share of petrochemicals globally. This is why Aramco’s acquisition of a majority stake in SABIC is a step for the desired integration between the oil and petrochemical industries.” .
He stressed that this expansion exceeds the regional borders to countries that are expected to witness growth in demand for energy and hydrocarbon products.
This comes at a time when it is expected that the gas plant in "Al-Fadhili" will also become a major component of the main gas network in the Kingdom, as it raises the current level of supplies from 8.8 billion standard cubic feet per day of sales gas, as in 2015, to 12.2 billion standard cubic feet. Daily by 2021.
The gas plant in "Al-Fadhili" is a very important part of the current expansion of the main gas network in the Kingdom. This expansion was planned as it meets the increasing demand for energy in the country by expanding the production capacity of the sale gas, so the operational performance in this plant is based on many advantages , Which is preceded by other laboratories, as the turbocharger of the laboratory is the first of its kind in the world, and it was previously commissioned in a practical demo at the beginning of 2015.
With the increase in domestic and international demand for gas, Saudi Aramco expects to continue increasing its gas reserves by discovering new fields, adding new reservoirs in existing fields, identifying existing reservoirs and fields and reassessing them.
The company's expansion in the gas business coincides with the ambitious national vision to increase the local gas supply and provide additional feedstock, with the lowest emissions resulting from burning, in light of the commitment of "Saudi Aramco" for 40 years to meet the local demand for gas, which is used in electricity generation, and many industries Such as: steel, aluminum, petrochemical and water desalination.
Over the past years, Saudi Aramco has developed a number of gas facilities, in accordance with the expansion strategy in this vital field, and many plants have witnessed remarkable developments based on the latest technologies, which enhance the great impact of Saudi Aramco and its leadership is not at the level of increasing gas supplies Not only, but on the level of economic growth and development of national human resources, and reduce emissions.