Saudi Aramco said to finish first shale gas project

State-owned oil producer Saudi Aramco is expected to finish building the facilities of its first shale gas project soon, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The project, known as System A, comprises gas processing facilities, well heads and pipelines in Turaif which will feed Waad al-Shamal phosphate mining project.

Mechanical completion of the facilities is expected in a month or two, one source said.

Aramco's 2016 annual report said 55 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (scfd) would be delivered to industrial and power facilities at Waad al-Shamal by the end of this year.

The Kingdom’s search for natural gas is a top priority to fulfill the needs of the rising domestic demand for energy and to cut carbon emissions, as gas is a cleaner source of power than oil.

In 10 years, Saudi Aramco expects its gas production to double to 23 billion scfd, including 2 billion to 3 billion from shale.

Aramco is in the process of building a System B, which will be at least four times bigger than System A. It also has plans to build a System C but has yet to issue tenders for its construction.

Early projections estimated the shale gas intake of the Waad al-Shamal mining complex and power plant being built for Saudi mining firm Ma'aden would be 200 million cubic feet per day by 2018. The complex is expected to hit full capacity by 2019.