Saudi Aramco launches giant Jafurah shale gas fracking project

Saudi Aramco has begun production from its giant Jafurah shale development, marking the kingdom’s biggest move into unconventional gas as it seeks to expand supplies beyond oil.

The $100 billion project – the largest shale gas field outside North America – relies on fracking and horizontal drilling, the same techniques that helped the U.S. become the world’s top oil and gas producer by unlocking hydrocarbons trapped in dense rock.

Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, said in a statement on Thursday that the development will allow Saudi Arabia to burn less crude at home, helping free up about 1 million barrels a day of oil for export by the end of the decade.

The company is targeting total gas and associated liquids output of about 6 million barrels of oil equivalent a day by 2030, roughly an 80% increase from 2021 levels.

Aramco estimates the expanded gas program will generate about $12 billion to $15 billion in incremental cash flow by the end of the decade.