Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil producer, is shifting its focus to natural gas as it attempts to build the energy backbone required to power fleets of artificial intelligence data centres, new industrial hubs and fast-growing cities.
The company will in the coming weeks begin production at the Jafurah field, one of the world’s biggest shale gas basins and the cornerstone of the kingdom’s push into the fuel.
Amin Nasser, Aramco chief executive, described the field’s growth potential as “huge”, noting it held about 230tn cubic feet of gas and 75bn barrels of oil, as well as being rich in ethane, a key feedstock for making plastics.