Saudi Is Pushing Ahead with a Major Project to Develop The World's Fifth Largest Oilfield

Saudi Arabia is pushing ahead with a major project to develop the world's fifth largest oilfield which will pump nearly 900,000 barrels per day of heavy crude and 90 million cubic feet per day of sour gas.

State owned Saudi Aramco said that its 2011 activities focused on the development of Manifa field adding that it had completed nearly 97% of offshore construction including all platform decks, subsea pipelines for crude oil gathering and water injection and subsea power and communication cables. Construction of the central oil and gas processing facility was nearly Q3 complete by year end and all major equipment has been installed.

Aramco said that all 27 manmade islands and the main and lateral causeways for Manifa were also completed. The islands were constructed to host shallow water wells which are more cost effective than offshore rigs. Aramco had conducted extensive engineering and ecological assessments to ensure that the marine ecosystem would not be adversely affected by the development.

The company said that when the development is finished in June 2013, the project will include 41 kilometers of causeways, three kilometers of bridges, 27 drilling islands, 13 offshore platforms, 15 onshore drill sites, water supply wells, injection facilities, multiple pipelines and a 420 MW heat and electricity plant.

By the time it is fully operational in December 2014, the Manifa Field is expected to produce 900,000 barrels per day of Arabian Heavy crude oil, 90 million scfd of sour gas and 65,000 barrels per day of hydrocarbon condensate to sustain oil and gas production from both new and existing fields, Saudi Aramco continued work on its offshore and onshore Maintain Potential Programs.

It said that as part of the onshore project, 104 new oil and water wells were completed, adding nearly 413,000 barrels per day of oil production capacity. Manifa's project is part of a program to lift the world oil superpower's crude output capacity to 12.5 million barrels per day from around 11 million barrels per day currently to maintain its position as the dominant oil supplier. The project has already prompted plans to build two large refineries with a combined output capacity of 800,000 barrels per day to handle heavy crude.

The report said that the project involves the second largest single crude increment in the company's history after its Khurais project which will boost capacity to 1.2 million barrels per day. With its estimated 10bn barrels of crude reserves, Manifa can contribute to crucial energy concerns.

It said that first, it addresses the supply-demand equation, producing more petroleum to address world energy needs; that increased capacity has obvious importance as a source of downstream products such as gasoline, jet fuel and motor oil which literally keep economies and people on the move.