Aramco Considers Saudi-Based LNG As International Growth Moves Ahead

16 Feb 2024 Issue: 67 / 7 By: Jamie Ingram

GCC LNG export capacity is set to grow by more than 50% by 2028 as Qatar and the UAE bring new capacity online. As blue ammonia offtake agreements prove hard to come by, Saudi Aramco is also examining the potential for a domestic LNG plant.

Saudi Aramco is considering developing domestic LNG export facilities as part of its ambitions to secure a slice of the global market for the fuel. The energy giant last year took its first tentative steps into the sector with an agreement to invest in emerging international player MidOcean Energy (MEES, 29 September 2023), which could be finalized within a matter of weeks, but a domestic project would be a major development.

“We are looking at LNG, diversifying into LNG. At this stage we are looking at LNG internationally, but we’re also considering local LNG at the right time,” Aramco Upstream President Nasir al-Naimi told the International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) in Dhahran on 13 February. Aramco plans to increase gas production by around 60% from 2021 levels by 2030, and is investing heavily in projects such as the Jafurah Basin unconventional development (MEES, 16 February). (CONTINUED - 899 WORDS)