Saudi Aramco has announced startup of production from its Jafurah development, a $100-billion capital project the company describes as the 鈥渏ewel鈥� of its unconventional gas portfolio and the Middle East鈥檚 largest unconventional gas field.
The national oil company (NOC) also confirmed that the Tanajib Gas Plant has begun operations, calling it one of the world鈥檚 largest gas processing facilities of its type.
The 26 February announcement marks a key milestone in Aramco鈥檚 plan to increase sales gas production capacity by approximately 80% by 2030 compared with 2021 levels.
鈥淛afurah and Tanajib significantly strengthen Aramco鈥檚 gas portfolio and expand our capacity at scale. These projects are a major step forward for our company and for the Kingdom鈥檚 energy future,鈥� Amin Nasser, Aramco president and CEO, said in a statement.
He added, 鈥淕as is central to our long-term growth strategy. It is expected to generate substantial earnings, meet rising domestic demand, support development across key sectors, and deliver significant volumes of high-value liquids.鈥�
Saudi officials previously confirmed that gas began flowing into the 450 MMcf/D-capacity Jafurah plant in December.
Covering approximately 17,000 km虏, the Jafurah Basin is estimated to contain 229 Tcf of raw gas and 75 billion STB of condensate. By 2030, the development is expected to deliver 2 Bcf/D of sales gas, 420 MMscf/D of ethane, and approximately 630,000 B/D of natural gas liquids.
The Jafurah Basin lies south of Aramco鈥檚 administrative headquarters in Dhahran and east of the supergiant Ghawar oil field. The unconventional development targets the tight, carbonate-dominated Tuwaiq Mountain formation, which also serves as the primary source rock for Ghawar.
The Saudi NOC is aiming to produce approximately 6 million BOE/D of gas and associated liquids production and estimates incremental cash flows from Jafurah of $12 billion to $15 billion in 2030. The company believes Jafurah is key to achieving its stated goal of ranking among the world鈥檚 top 10 gas producers.
Aramco said it has applied advanced drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies to reduce well costs and improve productivity.
该项目在近期于阿曼举行的SPE国际水力压裂大会上也得到了重点介绍。会上，国家能源服务联合公司（NESR）表示，该公司正与沙特阿美合作，在贾夫拉油田开展采出水回收利用试点项目。据NESR称，其中一项举措旨在处理和淡化采出水，同时回收包括锂和溴在内的微量元素，这些微量元素可以出售以抵消部分处理成本。
除了可以替代高达 50 万桶/日用于国内发电的原油外，沙特阿美还预计贾夫拉天然气将支持沙特阿拉伯不断扩大的人工智能基础设施和重工业，包括石化产业。
Tanajib天然气厂于2025年12月开始运营，预计将于今年晚些时候达到26亿立方英尺/天的原气处理能力。
沙特阿美还宣布启动马尔扬天然气处理厂，该厂正在处理来自海上马尔扬和祖鲁夫油田原油生产的伴生气。