Saudi: Jafurah Discovery to Make KSA a Gas Exporter
A $110 billion project to develop a gas field in eastern Saudi Arabia will turn the global market on its head and make the Kingdom a gas exporter, industry analysts said.
The Jafurah field — which lies southeast of Ghawar, the world’s largest conventional oil field — holds an estimated 200 trillion cubic feet of wet gas, and is capable of producing 130,000 barrels per day of ethane and 500,000 barrels per day of gas liquids and condensates.
Over 22 years, Jafurah could generate $8.6 billion a year in income and contribute $20 billion a year to the Kingdom’s GDP.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has ordered that the gas produced at the field should be prioritized for domestic industry, but analysts believe there will be a surplus available for export.
The development of the Jafurah field will have ramifications not just for Saudi Arabia and its drive toward a cleaner energy mix, but also for the global gas market, with recent discoveries in the Eastern Mediterranean rapidly reshaping economies from Cairo to Ankara and fueling fierce rivalries in the process.
