Two informed sources told Reuters on Tuesday that Sinopec and Total Energies were in separate talks to invest in the development of the Al-Jafurah project in Saudi Arabia, noting that the talks are preliminary after formal expressions of interest in the project in early 2022. .
One of the sources added that while last year’s proposals focused on expanding exploration and extraction operations, Aramco is now seeking international help to develop the downstream side, although the talks will not include not so far the construction of LNG export terminals.
Bloomberg quoted sources as saying there are ongoing talks to reach an agreement, and plans could include building facilities to export the fuel as liquefied natural gas.
The agency also said Aramco was looking for equity investors who could help finance refining and transportation projects as part of the $100 billion Jafurah gas development project in the east of the kingdom.
And Bloomberg reported last December that “Aramco” had reached out to private equity firms and other big funds that invest in infrastructure, to offer stakes in assets such as carbon capture and storage projects. , pipelines and hydrogen plants, and the investment bank “Evercore” provides it with advisory services regarding these plans.
Al-Jafurah is the largest shale gas development project outside the United States, with reserves estimated at around 200 trillion cubic feet of raw gas.
Through a fracturing method developed by Aramco using seawater from the nearby Gulf Coast, the company said it expects the field to produce about 2 billion cubic feet of gas per day. by 2030, at a total cost of $24 billion.
The company said in late 2021 it had signed deals worth $10 billion to develop the field, and the Saudi energy ministry added at the time that it planned to pay between 1.3 and 1. $.6 billion from him.
Initial plans were that the priority for gas from Jafurah would be to meet domestic demand, which would potentially export around 800,000 barrels per day of crude oil and fuel, after it was typically used to produce electricity for homes.
But Amin Nasser, chief executive of Aramco, also plans to use Jafurah to make the company a major gas exporter, taking advantage of existing pipelines to neighboring countries rather than developing expensive LNG export terminals. according to Reuters.
Read the Latest World News Today on The Eastern Herald.
