Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil producer, has clarified that the government’s maximum sustainable capacity (MSC) directive, issued in January 2024, will not impact announced near-term projects.
The government directed Aramco to maintain MSC at 12 million barrels per day (bpd).
The near-term projects include Dammam development and the Marjan, Berri, and Zuluf crude oil increments, the oil major said in its first quarter 2024 financial statement.
Production from these projects will be used to maintain MSC at 12 million bpd, which will provide operational flexibility and rapidly respond to changing market conditions.
Aramco achieved total hydrocarbon production of 12.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in the first quarter, which indicates its operational flexibility.
Some of the key developments highlighted in the quarterly statement were:
- Construction activities continued for the Dammam development project, which is expected to add crude oil production of 25 million bpd in 2024 and 50 million bpd in 2027.
- Construction and procurement activities continued on the Marjan and Berri crude oil increments, which are expected to be onstream by 2025 and add crude oil production capacity of 300 million bpd and 250 million bpd, respectively.
- Construction and engineering work progressed at the Zuluf crude oil increment, which is expected to process 600 million bpd of crude oil from the Zuluf field through a central facility by 2026.
- Aramco also delivered a number of key developments in the quarter as part of its strategy to increase gas production by more than 60 percent over 2021 production levels by 2030.
- Addition of 15 trillion standard cubic feet (tscf) of raw gas and two billion stock tank barrels of condensate as proven reserves at the Jafurah unconventional field.
- Progressed design, procurement, and construction activities at the Jafurah Gas Plant, part of the Jafurah unconventional gas field development that is expected to commence production in 2025 and gradually increase natural gas deliveries to reach a sustainable rate of 2.0 billion standard cubic feet per day (bscfd) by 2030.
- Continued construction and procurement activities at the Tanajib Gas Plant, part of the Marjan development program. The plant is forecast to be onstream by 2025, adding 2.6 bscfd of additional processing capacity from the Marjan and Zuluf fields.
- Awarded 28.9 billion Saudi riyals ($7.7 billion) of engineering, procurement, and construction contracts for the expansion of the Fadhili Gas Plant, which is likely to add a processing capacity of 1.5 bscfd by 2027.
(Editing by Anoop Menon) (anoop.menon@lseg.com)
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