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Saudi Aramco bringing shale gas revolution to Arabian Desert
Saudi Aramco bringing shale gas revolution to Arabian Desert
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By Yousef Saba The shale revolution that made the United States the world's top oil producer is taking shape in the Arabian Desert. Deep in the sands southeast of Saudi Arabia's giant Ghawar oilfield, state oil company Aramco TADAWUL:2222 is pushing ahead with a natural gas megaproject that could boost the kingdom’s revenues by billions of dollars in the coming years.It has brought in U.S. and Chinese firms like Halliburton NYSE:HAL and Sinopec SSE:600871 to deploy advanced machinery - including 'walking rigs', towering structures capable of moving short distances without dismantling and reassembling - to speed up drilling and well completions at the Jafurah basin. While the kingdom has scaled back its futuristic giga-projects and reversed plans to lift oil capacity, Aramco - the world's biggest oil exporter - has raised its gas production targets with this $100 billion bet at the centre, as it seeks to become a major global natural gas player. Jafurah, estimated to contain 229 trillion standard cubic feet of raw gas and 75 billion barrels of condensate, is potentially the biggest shale gas development outside the U.S. For decades, Saudi Arabia has burned a portion of its most valuable asset – crude oil – to power its grid. Now, with fewer than five years left to fulfil Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 agenda to diversify the oil-reliant economy, the pressure is on to replace those liquid fuels with gas."Jafurah is not just a large gas field: it is a strategic platform that supports the Kingdom's broader growth ambitions across key sectors, including energy, artificial intelligence, and major industries like petrochemicals," Aramco said in a statement in response to Reuters questions.NEW SHALE FRONTIEROn Thursday, Aramco officially announced the start of production at Jafurah, a milestone for a project that underwent years of incubation mirroring the early years of the U.S. shale boom. It said output began in December 2025, a disclosure that Reuters reported that month after it was included in the Saudi finance ministry budget statement."The excellent progress at Jafurah is a testament to a decade of relentless innovation and focus on value creation," Aramco’s Upstream President Nasir Al-Naimi told Reuters.“Early well performance has been outstanding, validating our high-tech approach and reaffirming the significance of this flagship project...