The Saudi Finance Ministry reported on Tuesday that the first phase of the 2222.SE Jafurah gas facility of oil giant Aramco has accomplished production with the commencement of a 450 million cubic feet per day capacity.
Jafurah could be the largest shale gas project outside the U.S. and potentially reach sustainable production of about 2 billion cubic feet per day by 2030.
In its 2026 budget statement, the finance ministry enumerated the milestone as one of the accomplishments that will have been achieved in 2025.
The gas production of Jafurah will be directed to domestic power production, relieving the remaining crude to export, which is currently utilized for power in the kingdom.
Therefore, Aramco has indicated that its unconventional gas programme at peak production will produce electricity at a pace that will substitute 500,000 barrels per day of oil.
Aramco plans to achieve its goal of becoming a big player in natural gas and expanding its gas production capacity through the $100 billion Jafurah project that is projected to have 229 trillion standard cubic feet of raw gas.
However, at the end of September, Aramco produced 12.6 billion cubic feet per day of gas, compared to 12 bcfd the previous year.
Aramco announced that it was increasing its gas growth target to 80 percent in 2021, compared to the earlier targeted growth of 60 percent, last month. Meanwhile, in its 2021 annual report, Aramco reported that it had achieved a single-day record gas production of 10.8 bcfd.
Aramco CEO Amin H. Nasser, who has referred to Jafurah as a crown jewel of the company’s portfolio, said in an earnings call last month that the first phase would be completed by the end of this year.
Aramco increased $11 billion at a lease and leaseback deal of its Jafurah gas processing facilities along with a consortium headed by Global Infrastructure Partners, part of BlackRock BLK.N, earlier this year.
