Saudi Aramco Begins Shale Gas Operations In NW, Around Ghawar - SF Chronicle

hatrack

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Mon Jun-06-11 12:47 PM
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Saudi Aramco Begins Shale Gas Operations In NW, Around Ghawar - SF Chronicle

June 6 (Bloomberg) -- Saudi Aramco, the world's largest crude exporter, is looking for so-called unconventional gas in the northwest and in the area of the Ghawar field, where gas infrastructure exists, Aramco said in its 2010 annual review.

Aramco seeks to develop resources in shale rock and tight gas, trapped in impermeable sandstone, to reduce the burning of valuable crude for power generation.

The company plans to initially recover about 300 million cubic feet a day of gas, rising to 5 billion cubic feet, Brian Gratto, manager for exploration resource assessment at the Saudi Aramco, said in an interview on May 17.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/06/05/bloomberg1376-LMDHTN0UQVI901-0FSO19TGGUPO78STPCMMKMDGP0.DTL#ixzz1OWFlUXsd

EDIT

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/06/05/bloomberg1376-LMDHTN0UQVI901-0FSO19TGGUPO78STPCMMKMDGP0.DTL

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FBaggins

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Mon Jun-06-11 12:51 PM
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1. Could make the anti-nuke crowd happy.

Edited on Mon Jun-06-11 12:54 PM by FBaggins

Sounds like the purpose of this exploration is to offset use of their exportable oil for domestic use. That's the same reason they were planning on building reactors. The gas is bound to be cheaper.

Not that burning more fossil fuels is a good thing for most people... but anti-nukes don't have the same priorities. :)

On edit - Never mind. I just saw an article saying that they were spending $100 Billion to build 16 reactors by 2030.

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GliderGuider

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Mon Jun-06-11 01:48 PM
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2. They're in a desperate race to spare their crude oil for export.

The Saudis are really up shit creek - their population is growing and becoming more affluent, they need a lot more money for their various social programs (aka princely stipends), and their oil production is going into decline. They need to put every drop they can into the international market. The very last thing they want to be doing is ramping up domestic oil consumption.

Hence, gas and nuclear.

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FBaggins

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Mon Jun-06-11 01:51 PM
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3. It doesn't have to have a peak oil twist to it.

They expect contiued rapid economic growth requiring ever more rapid demands for electricity...

...and crude oil makes for lousy electricity generation.

This would be true whether they think they're running out of oil or have enough for decades of continued production.

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GliderGuider

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Mon Jun-06-11 02:16 PM
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4. No, but it does help to explain their urgency.

I don't know what's prompting the sudden urgency of their plans - it seems like they should have been able to foresee growth in electricity demand far enough in advance to meet it without a crash course of fracking and reactor construction.

A lot of Saudi behaviour becomes more understandable when you factor in "Twilight in the Desert".

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FBaggins

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Mon Jun-06-11 02:20 PM
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5. I'd say that China's plans reflect "urgency"

The Saudis are talking about their first plants coming online in a decade or so.

A lot of Saudi behaviour becomes more understandable when you factor in "Twilight in the Desert".

I argued peak natural gas with him a few years before he passed away. It's instructive to note that the glut of natural gas now occuring (along with the report that the Saudis were going after more of their own as part of this plan), show that just because there will be a peak some day does not mean that the day is today.

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GliderGuider

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Mon Jun-06-11 02:24 PM
Response to Reply #5

6. Yes, I expected a gas peak about now too. No such luck, unfortunately.

Edited on Mon Jun-06-11 02:25 PM by GliderGuider

What was your impression of Simmons on the SA oil situation and PO in general?

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FBaggins

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Mon Jun-06-11 02:25 PM
Response to Reply #6

7. Agreed on that last bit.

Though I confess that I would swap gas plants in for coal plants right now and live with them for decades if that was an option.

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