Aramco launches two gas projects after crude export volumes rise

• Saudi oil exports rising
• Two new gas projects launched
• Worries over regional conflicts

Saudi Aramco announced it has begun operations on a shale gas project and separate gas plant as fears heighten of regional conflict that could threaten Saudi Arabia’s export capabilities.

The state-owned oil company said it has begun producing at the Jafurah gas field, which it calls the “largest liquids-rich shale gas play” in the Middle East. 

It also commenced operations at the Tanajib Gas Plant. Both are part of its efforts to expand natural gas capacity by 80 percent by 2030.

Saudi Arabia is aiming to increase energy exports, an ambition it has reportedly ramped up over fears of a US-led conflict with Iran that could jeopardise the Straits of Hormuz, through which much of Saudi Arabia’s oil exports flow.

This effort was hampered by an industrial accident on Monday at a separate Aramco facility in Juayamah, which resulted in the partial suspension of liquified petroleum gas exports following a collapse of scaffolding carrying propane and butane pipes on Monday. 

The terminal exported an average of 450,000 tonnes of LPG a month in 2024 and 2025, according to Kpler shiptracking data quoted by Reuters.

Increased capacity

In a statement released on Thursday afternoon, Aramco president and CEO Amin Nasser said that Jafurah and Tanajib will “significantly strengthen Aramco’s gas portfolio and expand our capacity at scale”.

The Ministry of Finance had previously announced that production commenced in Jafurah on December 2 with a capacity of 450 million cubic feet per day.

The ministry and Aramco were both contacted for comment.

Aramco has said it hopes to produce 6 million barrels of oil equivalent per day of total gas and associated liquids by the end of the decade. It expects this to generate cash flows of $12 billion to $15 billion.

“Gas is central to our long-term growth strategy,” Nasser said. “It is expected to generate substantial earnings, meet rising domestic demand, support development across key sectors and deliver significant volumes of high-value liquids.”

Saudi Arabia is also looking to use more natural gas for electricity generation at home, freeing up oil for export.

The country’s energy exports spiked in the last quarter of 2025, averaging 7.2 million barrels a day, compared with 6.8 million bpd, the quarterly average for the past four years, data from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative shows.

Saudi Arabia is on track to increase oil exports again in February to the highest monthly level since April 2024, according to a report from Bloomberg on Wednesday. 

A separate Reuters story, quoting unnamed sources, suggested that the kingdom is increasing exports ahead of a possible conflict between the US and Iran, in which the Straits of Hormuz, through which much of Saudi Arabia’s oil passes, could be closed.

At the same time, data released by the General Authority for Statistics show that non-oil exports fell by SAR1 billion ($270 million) in December to hit SAR19 billion, a year-on-year drop of 5 percent.

Exporting more non-oil products is a central goal of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 development plan. It hopes to increase the contribution of non-oil exports from less than 19 percent to 50 percent by 2030.

The increase of production quotas set by Opec+ has allowed Saudi Arabia to export more oil. The uptick in exports has offset some of the fall in oil price that has contributed to the country’s largest budget deficit since 2020.

• Opec+ to mull 137,000 bpd oil output increase for April
• Banks doubt Saudi deficit view as oil uncertainty persists
• Saudi PIF construction contracts plummet amid scaleback