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DUBAI - Saudi Arabia's oil giant Aramco said on Tuesday it produced the first tight gas at South Ghawar, as it pushes a strategy to boost gas production.
Tight gas refers to a type of unconventional gas - which requires advanced extraction methods - found in reservoir rocks with low permeability, most often sandstone.
Commissioned facilities at South Ghawar have a capacity to process 300 million standard cubic feet per day (scfd) of raw gas and 38,000 barrels per day (bpd) of condensate.
Aramco aims to boost its gas production by 50% by 2030 from 2021 levels. It aims to deliver 750 mmscfd of raw gas from South Ghawar in the near future, the company said.
It said in late September that it agreed to acquire a strategic minority stake in liquefied natural gas (LNG) company MidOcean Energy for $500 million, with an option to increase the stake - part of its push into natural gas.
Last month, Aramco Chief Executive Amin Nasser said Aramco was looking at more investments in LNG to boost its plans to become a leading player in the sea-borne gas market.
(Reporting by Yousef Saba; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)