Saudi Aramco has brought production onstream at the Jafurah natural gas field after completing Phase 1 construction of the 450-MMcf/D-capacity Jafurah gas plant, the Saudi Finance Ministry confirmed in an announcement on 2 December.
Widely described as the largest unconventional project outside of the US given its scale and resource base, and noted by Aramco as the largest nonassociated gas development in the Kingdom, Jafurah’s production is expected to reach 2 Bcf/D by 2030 when the $100-billion project is targeted for completion, the ministry said.
In August, a consortium of international investors led by BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) unit agreed to an $11-billion lease-and-lease-back deal with Aramco involving gas processing infrastructure tied to the Jafurah project. The project aims to satisfy domestic gas demand while also participating in global LNG markets through strategic investments, offtake agreements, and equity stakes in US projects.
Aramco’s Deal With BlackRock
Under the deal, Aramco created a new subsidiary, Jafurah Midstream Gas Co. (JMGC), to hold development and usage rights for the Jafurah gas plant and the Riyas natural gas liquids (NGLs) fractionation facility which would be leased back to Aramco after 20 years, Aramco said in a press release.
The agreement does not restrict Aramco’s production volumes, and Aramco maintains a 51% ownership stake in JMGC, with the remaining 49% held by the GIP-led investor group.
“Jafurah kickstarts our plan to expand our overall sales gas production capacity, which will contribute to Saudi Arabia’s growth ambitions across multiple sectors including energy, artificial intelligence, and major industries such as petrochemicals,” Aramco President and CEO Amin Nasser said upon the completion of the deal.
Jafurah’s reserves were reassessed in 2023 and revised upward to 229 Tcf of gas in place plus 75 billion stock-tank bbl of condensate. The project aims to ramp up to approximately produce 420 MMscf/D of ethane, and 630,000 B/D of high-value liquids (NGLs/condensate) by its planned 2030 completion, according to Aramco.
In its review of this year’s achievements, the Saudi Finance Ministry noted that the Kingdom had compensated for 98.5% of its 2024 production of crude, condensate, and associated gas.