SAUDI ARAMCO plans to tap its unconventional tight gas reserves by the end of the decade to fuel its domestic power requirements.
Ebrahim Assa’adan, general manager of exploration, told Bloomberg at least three to five rigs are being used to evaluate the potential shale and tight gas plays in the northwest of Saudi.
“If we can get it by 2020, that will be good,” Assa'adan said. “We are in the reconnaissance phase, shooting regional seismic programmes and drilling all over the country.”
Assa’adan said the country should evaluate gas tariffs to make unconventional gas extraction attractive. Saudi Arabia sells gas locally at a subsidised price of 75 cents a million British thermal units, a third of international market rates.
Aramco was recently reported in planning to take a major stake in a US-based technology company specialising in hydraulic fracturing, but later denied that it was competing for an interest in FrackTech.
Gas News | Middle East
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