Aramco abandons oil and invests in natural gas to increase production by 60%
After canceling oil capacity expansion plans earlier this year, Saudi state oil giant Aramco is now set to increase natural gas production by 60% by 2030, Reuters reports, citing an Aramco executive on the sidelines of the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston.
In the third quarter of last year, Saudi Arabia made two major natural gas discoveries in two fields in the Empty Quarter, in addition to the discovery of five fields in previously discovered fields.
In the Al-Hiran field, gas flowed at a rate of 900 thousand cubic meters per day, to which is added the much smaller Al-Mahakik field.
Demand for gas is seen rising significantly amid a global energy transition, which has prompted Saudi Arabia to move more quickly to open up the development of unconventional natural gas fields. Demand for LNG is expected to grow by 50% by 2030.
Saudis' growing interest in natural gas also led to the Kingdom's first acquisition in the LNG sector earlier this year.
Earlier this month, Reuters cited unnamed sources, saying that Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) are in talks to invest in American LNG, in order to compete with Qatar, which lost the record as the largest LNG exporter in the world in favor of the United States. Aramco is reportedly in talks for Sempra Infrastructure's Port Arthur LNG Phase 2 project in Texas. Phase 1 is already producing, while Phase 2 has been proposed for expansion.
Not only that, but in February the news spread that the Saudi company was considering issuing a new bond to finance these expansions in a convenient way, and probably according to Islamic finance.
Saudi Arabia's quest to expand its natural gas production capacity, along with its growing interest in global LNG options, comes as the Biden Administration continues its pause in approvals of new LNG projects, imposed in January, and adds uncertainty in the financing of new projects for American LNG operators.
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The article Aramco leaves oil and invests in natural gas to increase production by 60% comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/aramco-lascia-il-petrolio-ed-investe-sul-gas-naturale-per-aumentarne-la-produzione-del-60/ on Thu, 21 Mar 2024 08:00:32 +0000.