Saudi Arabia’s energy minister announces 4 oil and gas discoveries

Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, announced today, Dec. 27, that Saudi Aramco has discovered four new oil and gas fields in the Kingdom.

The non-conventional oil was discovered in Al-Reesh oil field, north-west of Dhahran, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported, citing the minister. Al-Reesh Well No. 2 has 4,452 barrels per day of Arab extra light crude oil, along with 3.2 million standard cubic feet of natural gas.

To determine the field’s size, Saudi Aramco drilled Al-Reesh Well No. 3 and Well No. 4. Well No. 3’s initial production reached 2,745 barrels per day of the same oil type, along with 3 million standard cubic feet of gas per day. Well No. 4’s daily flow of Arab Extra Light crude oil amounted to 3,654 barrels per day, along with a daily 1.6 million standard cubic feet of natural gas.

In addition, non-conventional gas has been discovered in Al-Sarrah reservoir at Al-Minahhaz well, south-west of the Ghawar oil field, and at Al-Sahbaa well, south of Ghawar.

Gas from Al-Minahhaz well amounts to 18 million standard cubic feet daily, as well as 98 barrels of condensate daily, and 32 million standard cubic feet daily out of Al-Sahbaa well.

Oil has also been discovered in Al-Ajramiyah Well No. 1, which lies to the north-west of Rafhaa in the Northern Borders Province. The well test shows a rate of 3,850 barrels of oil per day.

The energy minister pointed out that the discovery at Al-Reesh field is especially important as it shows that it is possible to produce Arab extra light crude oil at the Tuwaiq Mountain Formation.

Saudi Aramco continues to work on determining the size and volume of discovered fields and estimating the amount of oil, gas, and condensate in these fields, Prince Abdulaziz added.

The discoveries underline the wealth of natural resources the Kingdom has at its disposal, the minister noted.