 Saudi Aramco has abandoned plans to explore the northern part of the Red Sea based on results of a recent study.
The national oil company commissioned the Marine Studies section of King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals to conduct a study on the effects of oil and gas exploration in the Red Sea.
The study which was headed by Dr. Mohammad Qurban, revealed that numerous sites in the Red Sea are biologically rich and contain a variety of species which could be harmed by petroleum exploration activities.
Saudi Aramco accepted the recommendations of the study and killed its plans to explore the area.
This comes on the heels of Aramco’s 2012 discovery of the Ahmar-1 field of non-associated gas in deep water Red Sea, approximately 24km northwest of Duba in the Tabuk Province of Saudi Arabia. The company had announced a $25billion capital expenditure in exploration to develop the oil and gas reserves in the area.
