Saudi Aramco is planning to re-start oil production at a field mothballed in the 1980s, as the national oil company aims to sustain production at a time when disruptions elsewhere are putting increasing reliance on Saudi crude, according to a report from the Economist Intelligence Unit.
Aramco is reportedly sizing up the Dammam field, which was first drilled by SOCAL (now Chevron) in 1936. The Dammam 7 well first gave an indication of the immense potential of Saudi Arabia’s oil deposits.
Aramco first planned to revive the Dammam field in 2008, with the 500 million barrel field thought to be easily exploitable to a level of 100,000 barrels a day. The well is now in a residential area so will require careful de-mothballing.
Reduced global consumption and the development of fields in other countries through the 1980s led the Kingdom to lower its production from 10 million barrels per day to just over 2 million. Production shut at Dammam 7 in 1982, after 45 years in service with 32 million barrels.
Aramco is responding to increasing calls on its production capacity, as both Asian and European markets are looking for the Kingdom to fill for Iran’s production, which is subject to sanctions from the US and EU.
Brent briefly kissed $120 a barrel on Friday as disruption in Syria and Yemen added to encouraging data from the US and news that Iran has begun cutting off supplies to key European customers.
