Saudi eyes new phase of oilfield expansion

RIYADH – Saudi Arabia will decide soon whether to proceed with plans to raise capacity at its oilfields beyond the 2009 target of 12.5 million barrels per day (bpd), a Saudi oil adviser said.

The kingdom is on track to add 2.3 million bpd by August 2009, around 800,000 of which will be used to offset natural declines, said Nawaf Obaid, managing director of Saudi National Security Assessment Project (SNSAP).

‘All of the fields are expected to come on stream around six months earlier than initial projections,’ Obaid said, commenting on his latest SNSAP report.

Saudi Arabia, which has a current production capacity of 11 million bpd, has fast-tracked oilfield expansion plans to raise its output capacity to 12.5 million bpd by 2009 to maintain spare capacity and meet growing world demand.

TradeArabia