Detailing the expansion of Saudi Aramco's gas program throughout the Kingdom.
Aramco has extensive high-quality gas reserves and exclusive access to the Kingdom's large and growing domestic marketplace.
The company's strategic journey to expand its sales gas production-targets growth of more than 60% by 2030, compared to 2021 levels.
Increased gas production will come from Aramco's associated, non associated and cap gas, as well as unconventional tight gas basins.
Following is a list of ongoing and recently completed Aramco increments and unconventional gas projects.
Increments
Tanajib
Scheduled completion 2025
The Marjan Crude Oil Increment program includes construction of a new onshore gas plant comprising gas treatment and processing units, natural gas liquids (NGL) recovery and fractionation units, and gas compression facilities.
Hawiyah Gas Storage
Completed 2024
Saudi Arabia’s first underground gas storage project uses bi-directional wells to inject surplus processed gas into the 'Unayzah reservoir for later reproduction to deal with seasonal changes in demand.
Nine gas compression plants
Completed 2024
Located approximately 100 kilometers apart in remote desert, the compression plants improve and sustain gas production of lower-pressure gas by reducing choke pressure at the wellhead to 300 pounds per square inch gauge.
‘Uthmaniyah
Completed 2023
Additional Natural Gas Liquids (NGL), from the Haradh/Hawiyah increment is piped through a new 56” rich gas pipeline to ‘Uthmaniyah for deep ethane recovery, producing valuable feedstock for the petrochemical industry.
Haradh / Hawiayh
Completed 2023
An integrated investment dispensing nine compression plants across 30,000 km2 is adding an expected 20 production years, and increased gas plant processing capacity at Hawiyah by nearly one-third.
Unconventional
Unconventional gas, found in reservoir rocks with low permeability, cannot be explored or produced by conventional processes.
Aramco is using advanced extraction methods to develop its unconventional gas reserves.
Jafurah
Scheduled phased completion 2027
Jafurah unconventional gas basin, the largest liquid-rich shale gas play in the Middle East, spans 17,000 km2 between the Ghawar oil field and the Arabian Gulf, and holds an estimated 200 trillion cubic feet of rich raw gas.
2023 South Ghawar
Completed November 2023
Located southwest of the giant Ghawar oil field, unconventional gas production from Aramco’s South Ghawar operation represented the company’s second unconventional gas stream.
2018 North Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s first unconventional gas project was able to extract premium North Arabian gas, both sweet and dry, for cleaner burning domestic power generation in one of the Kingdom’s least populated regions.
In 1938, next to Saudi Arabia’s first commercial crude oil well discovery, Dammam No. 7, a sweet gas gathering facility was immediately constructed to fuel drilling operations and provide energy for nearby communities. Impressively, the facility continued to supply gas for 74 years, until it was taken out of service in 2012. Here, HH King ‘Abd al-‘Aziz watches over a Dammam Dome gas gathering facility in 1938.
“The path to building the Master Gas System to 3.15 Bscfd by 2028”
An extensive network of Aramco-operated pipelines, built in the 1970s and commissioned in 1982, that connects the company’s key gas production and processing sites throughout the Kingdom.
1982
Shedgum to Yanbu’ pipeline
2015
Kingdomwide capacity reaches 8.4 Bscfd
2018
MGS Expansion Phase-1
Kingdomwide capacity
9.6 Bscfd
2024
MGS Expansion Phase-2
Kingdomwide capacity
12.5 Bscfd
2028
MG GS Expansion Phase-3
Kingdomwide capacity
17.5 Bscf
— The Arabian Sun: July 23, 2024