Middle East: Saudis lead the charge

The kingdom should emerge as the region's first major shale gas producer. But not quickly

Saudi Arabia is seeking to tap a significant unconventional gas potential, estimated by US oilfield services firm Baker Hughes at 645 trillion cubic feet (cf), or more than double its conventional reserves of 284.8 trillion cf. But the kingdom's energy strategists are making slow progress in realising this potential.  The big service players have all made a beeline for the kingdom. In 2010, Schlumberger, Halliburton and Baker Hughes were invited by the Saudis to share their shale gas expertise and all three have subsequently established research centres in the kingdom, attempting to match their technology to the specifics of Saudi geology.  State oil company Saudi Aramco worked with Hallib