Saudi Arabia announces discovery of number of natural gas fields

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has discovered natural gas fields in four regions of the kingdom, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Sunday, quoting Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.

The Energy Minister said that Saudi Aramco has discovered natural gas fields in the central area of the kingdom, in the Empty Quarter desert, near its northern border and in the eastern region.

The fields, he mentioned, are Shadoon, in the central region, Shehab and Shurfa, in the Empty Quarter, in the southeastern region, Umm Khansar, near the northern border with Iraq, and Samna, in the eastern region.

Two of the gas fields, Samna and Umm Khansar, are “non-conventional,” he said.

Non-conventional deposits, also known as shale, are usually trapped in tight pore spaces, requiring special extraction techniques.

Saudi Arabia wants to increase gas production and boost the share of natural gas in its energy mix, replacing crude and fuel oil, to meet growing electricity consumption and to make more crude available for export.