DHAHRAN – Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Saudi Aramco) will soon announce natural-gas discoveries in the north and northwest of Saudi Arabia, Al Riyadh Arabic daily reported, citing the chief executive officer. The company will also start drilling in deep-water in the Red Sea at the end of the year and will announce the results in 2013, Khalid Al-Falih said, according to the newspaper. Saudi Aramco is developing a natural-gas field called Midyan in the northwestern part of the Kingdom, Al-Falih added. The gas will be used for power generation, he said. Saudi Aramco has released the engineering, procurement and construction tenders for the Midyan gas processing project that will cost about $800 million, MEED, the Middle East business news service, said on its website Tuesday. The field is forecast to produce 75 million cubic feet a day of gas and 4,500 barrels a day of condensate for a 20-year period. Gas from Midyan will be transported by pipeline to a power plant in the coastal town of Duba, 135 kilometers (84 miles) southwest of the field, MEED added. The bid deadline for the tender submissions is mid-October with completion scheduled for 2015. – Agencies
