Saudi Aramco has discovered five new oilfields and three new gas fields in the Eastern Province. One of the five oilfields is located offshore, said Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi. The oil wells are named Jaouf-11, Ramthan-9, Nayashen-1, Jarid-101 and Khursaniya-114. Jaouf-11 well, located 300 km northwest of Dhahran, has the Lower Dharma oil trap as one of its sources. Oil flows from a depth of 8,025 feet at the rate of 2,551 bpd with a density of 37°, according to the API (American Petroleum Institute) scale. Marking a first for the Lower Dharma oil trap, gas also flows from the well at the rate of 1.2 million cubic feet per day. Jaouf-11 is also fed by the Marat oil trap, at 1,715 feet depth and the rate of 1,620 bpd with a density of 36.4° on the API scale. It also emits 0.87 cubic feet of gas per day. The discovery has boosted the estimated oil reserves of the Marat oil trap. Ramthan-9 well is located 400 km northwest of Dhahran, beyond the northern edge of the Ramthan field. The flow rate was tested at 462 bpd at a depth of 10,960 feet in the Lower Al-Heet Trap – which is a new discovery in the Ramthan field. The light oil reserve estimate in the Ramthan field has increased with the discovery of the well outside the boundary of field. Nayashen-1 well is located 60 km northwest of the Ramthan field and 450 km northwest of Dhahran. This is a new discovery in the Nayashen area of the Eastern Province. The well's flow rate of 2,076 bpd, and oil density was found to be 36.9° from tests at a depth of 11,875 feet in the upper Al-Fadhili trap. Jarid-101 is located in the Arabian Gulf waters, nearly 130 km north of Dhahran. Three oil traps were chosen in the well which was not discovered before in the Jarid field. Oil flowed from the Al-Heet trap at the rate of 450 bpd, from the Shuaiba trap at 1,133 bpd, and from the Upper Al-Khafji trap at the rate of 115 bpd. Al-Khursaniya-114 well is 138 km west of Dhahran. Oil was confirmed in the Al-Safaniya Layer trap in the Al-Khursaniya field. The discovery makes the Al-Safaniya layer a new oil trap in this field. The flow rate and density are 480 bpd and 10° on the API scale. The three gas fields, Arabiya-1, Rabib-1, Hisbah-16, are all offshore in the Arabian Gulf waters. Arabiya-1 well is 185 km northeast of Dhahran. Rabib-1 well is 125 km northeast of Dhahran. Hisbah-16 well is 200 km northeast of Dhahran.
