The first phase of oil giant Aramco’s 2222.SE Jafurah gas plant is complete and production has begun with a capacity of 450 million cubic feet per day, the Saudi finance ministry said on Tuesday.
Jafurah is potentially the biggest shale gas project outside the U.S. and is expected to reach sustainable production of 2 billion cubic feet per day by 2030. The finance ministry, in its 2026 budget statement, listed the milestone as an achievement reached in 2025.
Jafurah’s gas output will be used for domestic power generation, freeing up crude for export that is currently used for power in the kingdom. Aramco has said its unconventional gas programme at peak production is expected to generate electricity equivalent to displacing 500,000 barrels per day of oil.
The $100bn Jafurah project, estimated to contain 229 trillion standard cubic feet of raw gas, is central to Aramco’s ambitions to become a major global player in natural gas and boost its gas production capacity.
Aramco’s gas production was 12.6 billion cubic feet per day at the end of September, up from 12 bcfd a year earlier. Aramco last month said it was boosting its gas growth target to 80% above 2021 levels from a previous targeted growth of 60 per cent. In its 2021 annual report, Aramco said it reached a single-day record gas output at the time of 10.8 bcfd.
Aramco CEO Amin Nasser, who has called Jafurah a crown jewel in the company’s portfolio, said during an earnings call last month the first phase was on track for completion by the end of this year.
Aramco earlier this year raised $11bn from a lease and leaseback agreement of its Jafurah gas processing facilities with a consortium led by Global Infrastructure Partners, part of BlackRock BLK.N.
Aramco declined to comment.
