Aramco's Jafurah shale gas faces obstacles
Water scarcity and a lack of transport infrastructure work against the recovery of gas from the shale field. Once overcome, its output may be better suited to displacing crude domestically than for LNG exports
Saudi Arabia has deeply held ambitions to be a major gas player, both regionally and internationally. But its latest shale gas project comes with several concerns that could limit its role in the global market and put into question the viability of exporting gas from the field altogether. “There are clear logistical challenges to making shale work in that part of Saudi Arabia, given the lack of water resources and limited transport links,” James Waddell, senior global gas analyst at Energy Aspects, tells Petroleum Economist. The $110bn project is expected to come onstream by 2024 and has a longer than usual ramp-up period until plateau capacity, which will not be until 2036, according to f
Also in this section
4 March 2026
The continent’s inventories were already depleted before conflict erupted in the Middle East, causing prices to spike ahead of the crucial summer refilling season
4 March 2026
The US president has repeatedly promised to lower gasoline prices, but this ambition conflicts with his parallel aim to increase drilling and could be upended by his war against Iran
4 March 2026
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed following US-Israel strikes and Iran’s retaliatory escalation, Fujairah has become the region’s critical pressure release valve—and is now under serious threat
3 March 2026
The killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei in US–Israeli strikes marks the most serious escalation in the region in decades and a bigger potential threat to the oil market than the start of the Russia-Ukraine crisis
