Saudi Arabia’s 2.5bn cfd Fadhili gas processing plant came onstream in late-2019, exiting the year at 1.5bn cfd capacity (MEES, 13 March). Once fully operational, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy says that Fadhili will displace 250,000 b/d of crude oil from domestic power stations.
The latest data from Jodi indicates that Fadhili may already be having an impact (MEES, 20 March). Crude burn in January was down 85,000 b/d year-on-year to 292,000 b/d – the lowest figure for January since 2015. However, the Jodi data also shows a more than 100,000 b/d year-on-year jump in fuel oil consumption, the bulk of which is for power generation. Irrespective of whether it is gas or fuel oil which is reducing domestic crude-burn, the fact is that the move frees up Saudi Arabia to ramp up crude exports. (CONTINUED - 133 WORDS)