Saudi Arabia to Tap Shale Gas from Jafurah Basin

A pump jack used to help lift crude oil from a well in South Texas’ Eagle Ford Shale formation stands idle in Dewitt County, Texas, US, January 13, 2016. REUTERS/Anna Driver/File Photo
A pump jack used to help lift crude oil from a well in South Texas’ Eagle Ford Shale formation stands idle in Dewitt County, Texas, US, January 13, 2016. REUTERS/Anna Driver/File Photo
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Saudi Arabia to Tap Shale Gas from Jafurah Basin

A pump jack used to help lift crude oil from a well in South Texas’ Eagle Ford Shale formation stands idle in Dewitt County, Texas, US, January 13, 2016. REUTERS/Anna Driver/File Photo
A pump jack used to help lift crude oil from a well in South Texas’ Eagle Ford Shale formation stands idle in Dewitt County, Texas, US, January 13, 2016. REUTERS/Anna Driver/File Photo

Within days, Aramco will start producing unconventional gas from the north, in a quest to supply electricity companies there and Waad Al Shamaal City with the required fuel to operate the project. However, in other areas of the kingdom, work is ongoing to produce gas from reservoirs that would be a game changer in the energy field in Saudi Arabia and the region in case the project witnessed success.

Aramco is conducting drilling and initial tests to produce shale gas from Jafurah oilfield, which is considered equivalent to Eagle Ford oilfield in Texas in terms of quantity and space. Shale gas is one of the unconventional gases whose extraction requires more complex operations than conventional gas.

Former Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi estimated the kingdom’s shale gas reserves at 600 trillion cubic feet i.e. double the estimated reserves of conventional gas. However, these estimates are preliminary and the kingdom’s lands might contain much greater quantity – Jafurah alone might contain this quantity of gas if not more.

Drilling one well in Saudi Arabia might cost between $15 to $20 million. During a conference in Bahrain last week, Khalid al-Abdulqader, general manager of unconventional resources at Aramco, said that another potential challenge is that Jafurah output should be huge.

Aramco announced that its gas product will double to 23 billion cubic feet on a daily bases within ten years, including 2-3 billion cubic feet daily of shale gas. According to Abdulqader, Aramco is expected to commence production of unconventional gas in the kingdom end of this month, adding that the project will reach the target output capacity by the end of the year.



UAE’s Mubadala Acquires Majority Stakes in Global Medical Supply Chain, Al Ittihad Drug

The acquisition enhances Mubadala's footprint in the healthcare logistics and pharmaceutical distribution sectors. WAM
The acquisition enhances Mubadala's footprint in the healthcare logistics and pharmaceutical distribution sectors. WAM
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UAE’s Mubadala Acquires Majority Stakes in Global Medical Supply Chain, Al Ittihad Drug

The acquisition enhances Mubadala's footprint in the healthcare logistics and pharmaceutical distribution sectors. WAM
The acquisition enhances Mubadala's footprint in the healthcare logistics and pharmaceutical distribution sectors. WAM

Mubadala Investment Company has acquired an 80% stake in Global Medical Supply Chain (GMSC) and Al Ittihad Drug Store (IDS) from GlobalOne Healthcare Holding (GHH), with GHH retaining a 20% stake, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported on Tuesday.

This strategic acquisition enhances Mubadala's footprint in the healthcare logistics and pharmaceutical distribution sectors, aligning with the UAE's vision to establish a robust life sciences infrastructure, WAM said.

Founded in 2015, GMSC provides comprehensive end-to-end supply chain services for medical products, including demand planning, procurement, logistics, inventory management, warehousing, and maintenance.

GMSC serves over 200 medical facilities, including hospitals and clinics across the UAE. With a dedicated team of medical supply chain specialists, GMSC sources a broad array of products from almost 400 suppliers, ensuring a reliable supply chain for all medical needs.

IDS, established in 1987, stands as one of the leading distributors of pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare products in the UAE. Distributing over 1,000 products from over 40 leading suppliers, IDS services every hospital, and all, or at least most pharmacies and supermarkets within the UAE. It boasts a vast portfolio that spans multiple therapeutic categories including anti-infectives, asthma, diabetes, and oncology.

"The expanding pharmaceutical market drives an increasing demand for specialized and efficient drug logistics solutions. By integrating GMSC and IDS into our portfolio, we are poised to create a vertically integrated life sciences sector in the UAE and enable its potential to encompass the entire value chain from logistics and distribution to specialized manufacturing,” said Executive Director of UAE Clusters at Mubadala's UAE Investments Platform Ismail Ali Abdulla.

As for Low Ping, Group CEO Yas Holding, she said that the transaction “continues Mubadala's strategic growth, following another significant acquisition by its new speciality pharmaceutical business, KELIX bio, which recently acquired a 100% stake in four pharma assets from GlobalOne Healthcare Holding's, the healthcare division of Yas Holding.”

“These concerted efforts underline Mubadala's commitment to strengthening the UAE's healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors as part of broader national ambitions for drug security and economic diversification."

GlobalOne Healthcare Holding LLC serves as the dedicated Healthcare Division of Yas Holding LLC, focusing on enhancing healthcare outcomes by investing in innovative solutions across various healthcare verticals.