Saudi Arabia's Jafurah gas field will help eliminate 688,000 b/d crude burn: report

Dubai — Saudi Arabia's development of Jafurah, the biggest unconventional gas field in the country, will help eliminate the burning of some 688,000 b/d of crude that could be exported, the energy minister was quoted as saying on Sunday.

The world's biggest oil exporter, which burns crude for power generation, plans to produce 90% of its electricity from gas and renewable energy in the future, Abdulaziz bin Salman said at an event on Sunday, Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper reported on Monday.

The ministry will finalize a new energy strategy in 3-4 months, the minister said, according to the Saudi daily.

Saudi Aramco plans to invest $110 billion to develop Jafurah, estimated to hold 200 trillion standard cubic feet of unconventional and unassociated gas.

Aramco expects production from the field to start in 2024 and reach about 2.2 billion scf/d of sales gas by 2036.

In addition, the field is expected to produce some 425 million scf/d of ethane, which represents 40% of current production in Saudi Arabia, and 550,000 b/d of gas liquids and condensate.

Jafurah, in the oil-rich eastern province, is 170 km long and 100 km wide.