Saudi Aramco is gearing up to drill its first deepwater exploration well in the Saudi sector of the Red Sea before the end of this year. This body of water is more than 2,000m deep in parts of the Saudi sector, and it has salt sequences up to 2,100m thick.
According to a company senior, geological surveys have indicated that oil will be found in frontier areas, including both the shallow and deepwater regions. Shallow water drilling has begun, but deepwater is essentially unexplored.
Saudi Aramco wants to raise its oil recovery rate from 50% to 70% over the next few years.