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Aramco Adds Significant Volumes to Proven Gas, Condensate Reserves at Jafurah Field

Aramco Adds Significant Volumes to Proven Gas, Condensate Reserves at Jafurah Field
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Aramco Adds Significant Volumes to Proven Gas, Condensate Reserves at Jafurah Field

Aramco Adds Significant Volumes to Proven Gas, Condensate Reserves at Jafurah Field

Saudi Aramco, one of the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals companies, has added significant volumes to the proven gas and condensate reserves at the Jafurah unconventional field in Saudi Arabia.

The Company has booked 15 trillion standard cubic feet (scf) of raw gas and two billion stock tank barrels (STB) of condensate as proven reserves at Jafurah. It is now estimated that Jafurah contains a total of 229 trillion scf of raw gas, alongside an estimated 75 billion STB of condensate.

These new estimates were calculated using a novel approach to shale reserve booking, which was applied to unconventional resources for the first time in the industry and has the potential to be deployed at a larger scale.

Reserve booking practices were assessed through establishing continuity of resources and consistency of performance. These new estimates were technically validated by respected industry reserves certification consultancy DeGolyer and MacNaughton, which reviewed the statistical booking mechanism and provided a fully independent assessment.

Aramco President and CEO Amin H. Nasser said: “This achievement enhances the Kingdom’s hydrocarbon wealth through proven gas reserves, which are a vital resource for the energy and chemicals industries.”

“Aramco’s upstream business is deploying state-of-the-art technologies including advanced modeling and artificial intelligence to make tangible progress in developing Jafurah, which is one of the company’s growth catalysts and an important economic empowerment for the Kingdom. The field represents a key element in our ambitious strategy to increase Aramco’s gas production,” he stressed.

Work is currently underway to deliver production at Jafurah, with plans to ramp up to reach a sustainable sales gas rate of two billion scf by 2030, in addition to significant volumes of ethane, Natural Gas Liquids (NGL), and condensate.

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Fire, Smoke Upend Western Canada’s Summer Tourism Season

A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)
A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)
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Fire, Smoke Upend Western Canada’s Summer Tourism Season

A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)
A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)

Severe wildfire seasons are increasingly hurting western Canada's lucrative tourism industry, with some visitors beginning to avoid the busy late-summer months due to concerns about uncontrolled blazes, smoke-filled skies and road closures.

After a scorching start to July, nearly 600 wildfires are now ablaze across British Columbia and Alberta, including a huge fire that this week devastated the picturesque tourist town of Jasper in the Canadian Rockies.

Dozens of communities, including popular holiday spots in British Columbia's Kootenay region, are under evacuation orders and several highways are closed.

This year's surge in wildfire activity comes after Canada endured its worst-ever year for wildfires in 2023, when more than 15 million hectares (37 million acres) burned, including parts of the city of West Kelowna in the heart of British Columbia's wine region.

Ellen Walker-Matthews, head of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, said the industry was seeing a lot more last-minute travel decisions instead of booking in advance.

"It's a huge blow. July and August are traditionally the busiest months in the region," said Walker-Matthews, adding that while her region has been relatively unscathed by wildfires this summer, some visitors are choosing to avoid interior British Columbia altogether.

The members of the British Columbia Lodging and Campgrounds Association are reporting a 5-15% drop in bookings from a year ago, with the biggest declines coming from the hotter Okanagan and Cariboo regions, said Joss Penny, who heads the association.

"The concern is that this is something we have to live with and we have it every year now," said Penny.

Although wildfires in Canada's forests are natural and common, scientists say drier, hotter conditions fueled by climate change are leading to more volatile and frequent blazes.

'SMOKEY SKIES'

Some events, like the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival, usually held in August, have now been rescheduled to earlier in the summer to avoid what is now seen as peak smoke season. The festival, which was cancelled last year due to nearby wildfires, was this year moved to July to benefit from "less smokey skies."

Wildfires and extreme climatic events are prompting tourists to "change their plans not just temporarily, but permanently," said Elizabeth Halpenny, a tourism researcher and professor at the University of Alberta, noting that seasonal workers in the sector are often the hardest hit as they have few protections during a bad season or amid a cataclysmic fire.

Tourism contributed C$7.2 billion to the British Columbia economy in 2022, and C$9.9 billion to Alberta in 2023, according to the latest government data.

Jasper National Park is one of Canada's premier tourist destinations, with more than 2 million visitors a year flocking to see its pristine mountain landscapes and abundant wildlife, including grizzly bears, moose and elk.

Kelly Torrens, vice-president of product at international tour company Kensington Tours, described western Canada as a bucket-list destination. But the company now has 49 trips that were supposed to pass through Jasper this season in limbo. Six others were forced to evacuate the park when the fire hit.

Parks Canada has cancelled all camping reservations within Jasper National Park until Aug. 6 and with potentially 50% of the town's structures destroyed by fire, the cleanup and rebuild could take years.

Halpenny is among those hedging their bets.

"I've booked a campsite stay in the mountain parks but at the same time, I booked a campsite out on the prairie somewhere and that's my backup plan because I don't want to miss out on my vacation with my family."