Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning petrochemicals industry and energy consumption is driving a rapacious thirst for gas. The kingdom is planning to increase raw gas output to 17.8bn cfd by 2020, and then to 23bn cfd by around 2026, up from 12bn cfd in 2016. But it looks likely to fall short of the 2020 target.
The main driver of last year’s output gain was the startup of the Wasit gas plant in mid-2016. Wasit has capacity to process 2bn cfd raw gas from the offshore Arabiyah and Hasbah fields, and produce 1.5bn cfd sales gas. 2017 will likewise secure gains as Saudi Arabia will benefit from a full year of the plant’s operations. (CONTINUED - 901 WORDS)
