RIYADH: Saudi Arabian Oil Co., also known as Saudi Aramco, has commenced drilling and workover operations in the King Salman Energy Park to support the localization of oil and gas.
In a press statement, the energy park, also known as SPARK, said that the facility, which spans an area of 370,000 sq. meters, will be home to more than 1,000 employees.
SPARK further noted that establishing Aramco’s Drilling and Workover center in the park would help increase supply chain efficiencies and ease operations.
“We are excited to witness the operational launch of Aramco’s D&WO headquarters and industrial facilities within SPARK,” said Saif Al-Qahtani, CEO of the energy park.
He added: “This underscores our commitment to delivering world-class services to our investors across the MENA region and beyond. SPARK remains steadfast in its mission to be at the forefront of advancing the energy industry and reinforcing our position as a vital hub for localization of energy supply chain, innovation, and collaboration.”
According to the press statement, the addition of Saudi Aramco’s D&WO center is expected to catalyze SPARK’s commitment to localize the energy value chain, aligned with the Kingdom’s localization goals outlined in Vision 2030.
Earlier this month, Saudi Aramco began the production of unconventional tight gas from its South Ghawar operational area, two months ahead of its schedule.
Unconventional tight gas, or shale gas, is typically found in reserves where hydrocarbons are tightly trapped within rock layers. Extracting this gas demands specialized techniques like horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing.
The commissioned facilities at South Ghawar currently have a processing capacity of 300 million standard cubic feet per day for raw gas and 38,000 barrels per day for condensate.
On Nov. 19, Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, announced that Saudi Aramco had discovered two new gas fields in the Eastern Province and the Empty Quarter, respectively.
The discovery of natural gas reservoirs is expected to complement Aramco’s strategic plan to increase gas production by over 50 percent from 2021 levels to meet domestic demand by 2030.
