Reuters cited Mr Ali Naimi oil minister as saying that Saudi Arabia will develop its Midyan natural gas field in the Red Sea in 2013.
Mr Naimi in the northern city of Tabuk, Saudi Gazette said that "The Midyan field will be developed in 2013 and it would start production within a short period. It would boost electric power plants run by gas instead of diesel, and both electricity and gas would reach industrial zones."
Mr Khalid al-Falih CEO of Saudi Arabian Oil Company said that the company will drill 7 deep sea and offshore wells and build facilities at nearby Duba.
The world's top oil exporter is attempting to boost its output of natural gas, which it needs to meet rapidly climbing domestic power demand and to supply its strategically important petrochemical industry with raw materials.
