Saudi Arabia’s national oil company Saudi Aramco plans to start natural gas production near Jordan next year ,” CEO Khalid Al-Falih said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“Results are extremely encouraging” at the field in northern Saudi Arabia, Al-Falih said.
Saudi Aramco is exploring for gas and boosting refining capacity to free more crude for export, he said.
Deposits include the Midyan gas field in the northwest of the country, the Empty Quarter desert in the south, and sites near Ghawar, the world’s largest oil field located close to the Persian Gulf coast.
Other Middle Eastern producers are also looking at gas exploration to meet demand for fuel in power plants and feedstock to make chemicals.
Oil prices more than halved since June last year as the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) kept production unchanged and US shale oil output surged to a three-decade high.
Lower oil prices may discourage investment in new production at the same time demand is set to rebound later this year, Al-Falih said.
“People will now be careful before committing large sums of money to the mega projects in the oil and gas industry,” he said.
