RIYADH — Saudi Aramco has successfully produced the first unconventional tight gas from its South Ghawar operational area two months ahead of schedule, the world's largest energy company said in a statement on Tuesday. "This development supports Aramco's strategy to increase gas production by more than half, over 2021 levels, through 2030, subject to domestic demand," the Saudi oil giant said. This is Saudi Aramco's second production of unconventional gas after the delivery from the North Arabia field in 2018. South Ghawar's commissioned facilities have a 300 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) raw gas processing capacity and 38,000 b/d of condensate processing capacity, Aramco said. The company was working on more than doubling South Ghawar's processing capacity to 700 MMcf/d in the near future as part of catering to growing gas demand in the country, it said. Nasir al-Naimi, Aramco's upstream president, said in a statement that this first production of unconventional tight gas from South Ghawar is a milestone that demonstrates real progress on Aramco's gas expansion strategy. "We believe that this will have a role to play in meeting the Kingdom's needs for lower-emission energy and supporting growth in the chemicals sector. The ability to commence production two months ahead of schedule and below budget is testament to the unwavering dedication of our people and their determination to continuously enhance our upstream operations," he said. South Ghawar is close to the giant Ghawar oil field, the world's largest such conventional resource. First tight gas from South Ghawar was the company's second such production from an unconventional asset. In 2018, Aramco produced first gas from North Arabia field with a delivery of 240 MMcf/d to customers in the Wa'ad Al-Shama area in northern Saudi Arabia, where a number of mining and industrial activities are located. Aramco has three major unconventional gas fields: South Ghawar, North Arabia and Jafurah, according to its website. "Work is simultaneously progressing at the giant Jafurah unconventional gas field, which is the largest liquid-rich shale gas play in the Middle East," Saudi Aramco said.
