RIYADH — The Council of Ministers has stressed the pioneering role of the Kingdom in upholding human rights as was highlighted during the 43rd Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva recently. During the meeting, the Kingdom won laurels for its stance toward human rights, especially toward the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination, the violence against Rohingya community in Myanmar and confronting the Houthi militia in Yemen and providing humanitarian and developmental aid to the people of Yemen. The Cabinet meeting was presided over by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman here on Tuesday. It lauded the keenness of King Salman to continue the development efforts, economic diversification, and benefit from the relative privileges in the Kingdom and boost the Kingdom's pioneering position in the global energy market. In this regard, the Council referred to the subjects discussed by the Supreme Committee for Hydrocarbons during its meeting presided over by Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, on Feb. 20, and dealt with the plans for developing the Al-Jafoura Field. Al-Jafoura Field, which is 170-km long and 100-km wide, is deemed the biggest non-associated and non-conventional reserve to be discovered in the Kingdom. The volume of gas resources is estimated at approximately 200 trillion cubic feet of liquid gas, which is used in petrochemical industries and high value condensates. The Crown Prince praised Saudi Aramco's efforts in developing the field with investments reaching $110 billion (SR412 billion). The stages for developing the field will lead to gradual increase in gas production to 2.2 trillion cubic feet in 2036. This forms 25 percent of the current production. The gas field, with its unique characteristics, will be able to produce about 130,000 bpd of ethane, forming approximately 40 percent of the current production and some 500,000 bpd of gas liquids and condensates that are necessary for petrochemical industries, forming 34 percent of the current production. Minister of Media Turki Al-Shabanah told Saudi Press Agency (SPA) that the Council referred to the Kingdom's speech at the Disarmament Conference in Geneva, in which it affirmed "the Kingdom's adherence to disarmament efforts in the Mideast." The Kingdom had voiced its concern over the dangers threatening the security of the Arab countries in the Gulf region with the escalation of the looming danger posed by the Iranian-backed terrorist armed militias, which are still practicing their terrorist acts by targeting civilian areas in the Kingdom. The Kingdom reaffirmed support for the efforts aimed at achieving disarmament and stability in the region, and maintaining global peace and security. It also stressed that the Iran regime's announcement not to fully comply with the 2015 nuclear agreement requirements is enough evidence that its nuclear program is not for peaceful purposes at all.
