JEDDAH, 23 March 2004 — The Council of Ministers yesterday endorsed the landmark agreements Saudi Arabia signed with Russian, Chinese, Italian and Spanish oil giants for upstream gas exploration and production in the northern Rub Al-Khali or Empty Quarter.
Culture and Information Minister Dr. Fouad Al-Farsy said the Cabinet meeting, chaired by Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, signed the agreements with Lukoil Saudi Arabia, Sino-Saudi Gas and Enirespa Gas.
The three joint ventures, in which state-owned oil and gas giant Saudi Aramco has a 20-percent stake, are expected to fetch total investment worth SR75 billion in five years.
Ameen Muhammad Al-Shibani, adviser for planning at Saudi Aramco, has estimated the total investment in the three Rub Al-Khali projects at about 15 percent of the Kingdom’s gross national product. They will create 150,000 indirect jobs and 35,000 direct jobs, he said.
The Cabinet endorsement of the deals came a day after the Kingdom announced the discovery of a new gas field in the Shayba region in the Eastern Province.
According to Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Ali Al-Naimi, the new field will be able to supply 20 million cubic meters of gas and 650 barrels of condensates daily. “It is the first time that non-associated gas has been found in the area,” the minister said, adding that the field located 600 km southeast of Dhahran and 800 km southeast of Riyadh.
The Kingdom currently produces seven billion cubic feet of gas per day through its five gas plants at Hawiyah, Haradh, Shedgum, Berri and Uthmaniyah. By 2025 the expected demand would surge to 14 billion cubic feet.