During a trip to Khurais recently , about 100 local and international journalists got a first-hand look at one of Saudi Aramco's most impressive mega-project, Khurais Field Development Program . With a production capacity of 1.2 million barrels per day, the Khurais Field Development Program is the largest industrial undertaking of its kind in the history of the industry. The journalists were attendees of the Jeddah Energy Meeting, which was called for by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. They were flown to Khurais for a tour of the Central Processing Facility and the Residential/Administration complex. The massive steel and concrete facility rising up out of the otherwise open desert creates a commanding first impression. The sheer quantity of the materials that has gone into its construction is mind-boggling. A short list includes 470,000 cubic meters of cement, 145,000 tons of structural steel, 4,000 kilometers of piping and 10,720 kilometers of cable. Amin H. Nasser, senior vice president of Exploration and Producing, says as he welcomes visiting delegation “As you can see, Saudi Aramco has been diligently responding to the challenge of increasing global demand for energy in a big way.” Khurais is just one of several mega-projects currently in progress. Their combined output, said Nasser, is expected to boost Saudi Aramco's production capacity by 20 percent, going from 10 million barrels per day in 2004, to 11 million barrels per day currently, and to 12 million barrels per day by the end of next year. The Khurais facilities will be able to process 1.2 million barrels of Arabian Light crude. A new gas plant will treat the associated gas, producing 70,000 barrels per day of condensate and 420 million cubic feet per day of gas. The program will also increase the existing East-West NGL Pipeline capacity from 425,000 barrels per day to 555,000 barrels per day to manage the additional NGL produced at Khurais. Infrastructure work includes an airstrip, residential facilities for up to 1,000 full-time personnel and an industrial complex to handle facility maintenance. The Khurais Central Processing Facility is currently 55 percent complete and is projected to be on-stream by June 2009. The Khurais oil processing facility is a testament to Saudi Aramco's unwavering commitment to do what it takes to meet the growing global demand for petroleum when it is called upon to do so.
