Bloomberg News reported today, citing informed sources, that China's Sinopec and France's TotalEnergies are among companies in discussions with Saudi Aramco to invest in the development of the Jafurah project in Saudi Arabia. One of the sources mentioned that "Aramco is currently seeking international assistance to develop the refining and marketing aspect, although talks so far do not include the establishment of liquefied natural gas export terminals."
Saudi Aramco expects, thanks to its developed fracturing method using seawater from the nearby Gulf coast, that the field will produce about two billion cubic feet of gas per day by 2030, with a total cost of $24 billion. Initial plans prioritized Jafurah gas to meet local demand, potentially enabling around 800,000 barrels per day of crude oil and fuel for export, which previously had been used primarily for electricity generation in homes.
However, Aramco’s CEO Amin Nasser is considering using Jafurah to solidify the company’s position as a major gas supplier, taking advantage of existing pipeline networks to neighboring countries instead of developing costly liquefied natural gas export terminals. Jafurah is the largest shale gas development project outside of the United States, with reserves estimated at about 200 trillion cubic feet of raw gas.
