Saudi Aramco is preparing to launch into a record exploration and development campaign targeting unconventional gas while continuing to drill for oil in order to sustain its potential production capacity at around 12.5million barrels per day.
It has been reported that Aramco intends to add another 30 rigs to its fleet this year, which will raise its total land rig count to more than 170.
This is despite the company cutting current oil output to accommodate the present oversupply around the globe.
A knock-on benefit of the current oil situation is that Aramco will be able to focus its exploration and development effort on prospecting for unconventionals . . . primarily in the north-western part of the country.
There are two further prospective areas of interest . . . in the Ghawar area and Rub Al-Khali.
Ghawar is the largest oil field in Saudi Arabia. However, South Ghawar is seen as a tight-gas sand opportunity. The area is close to infrastructure and there is a large amount of geological data available from the development of the oil field, which can be used to define the tight-gas sands.
Rub Al-Khali is located in southern Saudi Arabia where shale and condensate plays are beginning to capture interest.
Company sources have indicated that some of the additional rigs will be used for field maintenance such as drilling for injection water and sustaining present wells.
Since it launched its gas production push in 2009-10, Saudi Aramco has seen its estimated conventional gas reserves rise to approximately 283trillion cu.ft (2011 estimate).
The company has hinted that Saudi Arabia’s unconventional gas resources may exceed that.
Early last year, US oilfield services giant Baker Hughes and Aramco opened a joint research centre at Dharhan which is focused on understanding and developing unconventional resources.
The Dhahran facility offers research opportunities in areas ranging from petrophysics, drilling, geomechanics, fluids and production technology.