RIYADH: State oil company Saudi Aramco has discovered four new oil and gas fields in different locations around the country, the Kingdom’s energy minister said on Sunday, according to a Saudi Press Agency report.
The fields were found near Dhahran, Ahsa and in the Northern Borders region.
Energy Minister Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman Al-Saud said the new well No. 2 in Al-Reesh oil field, located northwest of Dhahran, flowed with a daily rate of 4,452 barrels per day of Arab extra light crude oil, along with 3.2 million standard cubic feet of natural gas.
Aramco drilled Al-Reesh well No. 3 and well No. 4 to determine the field’s size.
Al-Reesh No. 3 had an initial production of 2,745 barrels per day of the same oil type, along with 3 million standard cubic feet of gas per day. Well No. 4 had capacity for a daily rate of 3,654 barrels of Arab Extra Light crude oil, along with a daily 1.6 million standard cubic feet of natural gas per day.
“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,” the minister said.
To the southwest of the world’s biggest conventional oil field, Al-Ghawar in Al-Ahsa, another nonconventional gas location has also been discovered in Al-Sarrah reservoir at Al-Minahhaz well, and at the Al-Sahbaa well, south of Ghawar.
Gas from the Al-Minahhaz well amounted to 18 million standard cubic feet daily, along with a daily 98 barrels of condensate, while Al-Sahbaa well had a daily rate of 32 million standard cubic feet.
Oil has also been discovered in Al-Ajramiyah Well No. 1, which lies to the northwest of the city of Rafhaa in the Northern Borders region. The test showed a rate of 3,850 barrels of oil per day.
“Saudi Aramco continues to work on assessing the quantities of oil, gas, and condensate in the discovered fields and to determine their area and size,” the minister said.
He added that the discoveries underline the wealth of natural resources the Kingdom has at its disposal.
