Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco) has awarded subsurface and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracts worth $10 billion to develop the Jafurah unconventional gas field, Saudi Arabia's largest non-associated gas field.

The capital expenditure at Jafurah is predicted to reach $68 billion over the first 10 years of development, according to a recent press release.

Through the project, Aramco seeks to meet the rising demand for high-value petrochemicals feedstock, implement its hydrogen objective, and support the expansion of its integrated gas portfolio.

The production of natural gas at Jafurah is expected to reach two billion standard cubic feet per day (scfd) by 2030, with 418 million scfd of ethane and around 630,000 barrels per day of gas liquids and condensates.

Aramco forecasts that the total overall lifecycle investment at Jafurah would exceed $100 billion.

The Saudi Minister of Energy, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, said: "The development of Jafurah will positively contribute to the Kingdom’s energy mix and it has been made possible thanks to close co-operation between more than 17 different agencies."

Meanwhile, Aramco President and CEO, Amin H. Nasser, commented: "This is a pivotal moment in the commercialisation of Saudi Arabia’s vast unconventional resources program. It is a breakthrough that few outside the Kingdom thought was possible, and which has positive implications for energy security, economic development, and climate protection."