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Abdulkarim Al-Ghamdi, Aramco’s executive vice president for gas, told delegates at the 25th World Petroleum Congress in Riyadh that the company is building or starting up between six and seven gas processing and liquefied natural gas facilities over the next three years. The initiative forms the core of what Al-Ghamdi described as the largest gas expansion in Aramco’s history, driven by rising domestic and regional demand for the fuel in power generation and petrochemical manufacturing. Saudi Arabia’s abundant gas resources, which carry competitive production costs, position the kingdom to achieve exceptional growth rates that stand out globally, according to the executive.
Aramco intends to lift total gas and associated liquids output to the equivalent of 6 million barrels per day by 2030, an increase that aligns with the targeted 80 percent expansion in sales volumes from earlier baselines. The company has already brought initial production online at the Jafurah unconventional gas field late last year and started up the Tanajib gas plant earlier in 2026, milestones that advance the broader strategy. These projects, combined with further phases scheduled through the decade, will unlock substantial new capacity while supporting Saudi Arabia’s shift toward greater gas utilisation across its energy mix.
Investments in Jafurah alone have surpassed $100 billion, a commitment that underscores the scale of Aramco’s push into unconventional resources. By 2030 the field is expected to deliver 2 billion standard cubic feet per day of sales gas along with significant volumes of ethane and high-value liquids, according to earlier Aramco disclosures. The development has benefited from technology improvements that reduced drilling and stimulation costs while increasing well productivity.
The gas expansion programme is projected to generate between $12 billion and $15 billion in additional operating cash flow by 2030, depending on sales demand and liquids prices, Aramco has indicated. Phase three of the Master Gas System, which will add 3.15 billion cubic feet per day of network capacity through 4,000 kilometres of pipelines and 17 compression trains by 2028, forms another element of the infrastructure build-out. Al-Ghamdi highlighted that the kingdom’s oil production assets and export infrastructure are geographically dispersed, enhancing resilience against potential disruptions.
More than 90 percent of materials required during recent global supply-chain stresses were sourced locally, a factor that helped maintain operations across Aramco’s extensive gas network. The Master Gas System itself stretches thousands of kilometres from east to west, providing the backbone for domestic distribution. This infrastructure has proved reliable even amid regional tensions that tested global energy systems, the executive noted during the Tuesday session.
Aramco continues to integrate advanced technologies across its gas operations, including digital tools and carbon capture initiatives, to improve efficiency and environmental performance. The company’s gas strategy also complements Saudi Arabia’s wider energy transition goals, in which gas and renewables are each expected to supply half of electricity generation by 2030. Al-Ghamdi’s remarks at the congress in Riyadh reinforced the central role gas now occupies in Aramco’s long-term growth plans.
