An announcement by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Finance last week indicating that the Jafurah Basin unconventional gas project had started up always appeared suspect, especially given the lack of confirmation from Aramco itself (MEES, 5 December). And that caution was justified, with Aramco’s EVP for Gas Abdulkarim al-Ghamdi this week telling the Middle East Gas Conference that commissioning is underway and that the project is on schedule to start up by year-end.