Saudi Arabia targets 12 million b/d by yearend 2009

June 26, 2006
Saudi Arabia plans to increase its crude oil production to 12 million b/d by the end of 2009, according to Saudi Aramco Pres. and Chief Executive Officer Abdallah S. Jum’ah.

Saudi Arabia plans to increase its crude oil production to 12 million b/d by the end of 2009, according to Saudi Aramco Pres. and Chief Executive Officer Abdallah S. Jum’ah.

Juma’ah told delegates at the annual Asia Oil & Gas Conference in Kuala Lumpur that Aramco currently has half a dozen major oil increments at various stages of development, with a total production capacity of some 3 million b/d.

“In other words, in the next 5-6 years, we will be adding production capacity. Some of that capacity will offset natural decline, while the remainder will serve to expand our maximum sustained production capability, which by the end of 2009 will reach 12 million b/d,” he said in an address by video transmission from Dhahran to Kuala Lumpur.

“At the same time, in keeping with Saudi Arabia’s current oil policy and as a commitment to world oil markets, we will maintain our surplus production capacity of 1.5-2 million b/d, even as our actual production grows,” he said.

Juma’ah acknowledged that Aramco’s surplus capability is expensive to develop and maintain, but he said that “over the years it has repeatedly proven its worth, and so we bear this cost to promote market stability and continued global economic development.”

Juma’ah said Aramco has planned several huge projects, including:

  • Expansion of refining capacities in South Korea through S-Oil, in the Philippines through Petron, in the US through the Motiva joint venture with Royal Dutch Shell PLC, and in China’s Fujian and Shandong provinces with Sinopec.
  • Development of two export refineries in Saudi Arabia.
  • Construction of a world-class, integrated refining and petrochemical facility at Aramco’s Rabigh refinery with Sumitomo Chemical.
  • Expansion of the capacity of the country’s Master Gas System to enable the use of natural gas as the primary fuel and feedstock for domestic industries and utilities.

“In all of these various projects, we are taking care to protect and preserve the natural environment, and to lighten the carbon footprint of our various operations on the ecosystem,” Juma’ah said.

Annual report

His remarks coincided with the publication of Aramco’s annual report for 2005, which disclosed:

  • Recoverable oil and condensate reserves: 259.8 billion bbl.
  • Average oil production: 9.1 million b/d.
  • Gas reserves: 239.5 tscf.
  • Average gas production: 7.87 bscfd (raw gas to gas plants).
  • Average NGL production: 1.1 million b/d.
  • New discoveries (oil fields): Du’ayban, Halfa, and Muraiqib.
  • New discoveries (gas fields): Fazran and Midrikah.
  • Completed wells: 212 oil, 20 gas.
  • Total recompletions: 84 onshore, 26 offshore.
  • Workovers: 7 gas, 119 oil (95 onshore, 24 offshore).