Saudi Aramco plans to nearly double its gas production to 23bn standard cubic feet (scf) per day in the next decade, its chief executive said on Tuesday.
“The kingdom has managed to increase gas production from 3.5bn standard cubic feet per day in 1982 to more than 12bn scf now and this figure is expected to double to around 23bn scf during the coming decade,” Amin Nasser told an industry conference.
“Work is under way to execute an ambitious plan to implement this during the coming 10 years,” he said, without detailing the plan.
Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil and gas company, has embarked on a massive programme to boost gas output for electricity and petrochemical production by developing gas fields not associated with oil production.
For instance, it is exploring and developing unconventional gas in the north of the kingdom.
Nasser also said Aramco was moving ahead with its strategy ‘to achieve a better balance between the total exploration and production capacity, which stands at 12 million barrels per day of crude oil, and its refining capacity’.
The state oil giant plans to raise its refining capacity to 8 to 10mn bpd from around 5.4mn bpd now, he added.
