Saudi Arabia Announces 4 Oil and Gas Discoveries

Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz. (SPA)
Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia Announces 4 Oil and Gas Discoveries

Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz. (SPA)
Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz. (SPA)

Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz announced that Saudi Aramco has discovered four new oil and gas fields in the Kingdom.

He said that non-conventional oil has been discovered in al-Reesh oil field, northwest of Dhahran. Al-Reesh Well No. 2 boasts 4,452 barrels per day of Arab extra light crude oil, along with 3.2 million standard cubic feet of natural gas, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Sunday.

To determine the field’s size, Aramco has drilled al-Reesh Well No. 3 and Well No. 4. Well No. 3’s initial production has reached 2,745 barrels per day of the same oil type, along with 3 million standard cubic feet of gas per day. Well No. 4’s daily flow of Arab Extra Light crude oil amounts to 3,654 barrels per day, along with a daily 1.6 million standard cubic feet of natural gas.

Non-conventional gas has also been discovered in al-Sarrah reservoir at al-Minahhaz well, southwest of the Ghawar oil field, and at al-Sahbaa well, south of Ghawar. Gas from al-Minahhaz well amounts to 18 million standard cubic feet daily, along with a daily 98 barrels of condensate, and al-Sahbaa well boasts a daily rate of 32 million standard cubic feet.

Oil has also been discovered in al-Ajramiyah Well No. 1, which lies to the northwest of the city of Rafhaa in the Northern Borders Province. The well test shows a rate of 3,850 barrels of oil per day.

Prince Abdulaziz said the discovery at al-Reesh field is especially important as it shows that it is possible to produce Arab extra light crude oil at the Tuwaiq Mountain Formation.

He also said that Saudi Aramco continues to work on determining the size and volume of discovered fields and estimating the amount of oil, gas and condensate in these fields.

He added that the discoveries underline the wealth of natural resources the Kingdom has at its disposal.



Oil Edges Up ahead of US Fed Rate Decision, 2025 Outlook

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
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Oil Edges Up ahead of US Fed Rate Decision, 2025 Outlook

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)

Oil edged up on Wednesday as a drop in US crude inventories offered some support, although investors stayed cautious ahead of a potential interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve and its projections for 2025.

Brent futures rose 53 cents, or 0.7%, to $73.72 a barrel at 1436 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 54 cents, or 0.8%, to $70.62.

The Fed is expected to cut rates by a quarter point, but to signal a cautious approach to loosening monetary policy next year.

"A quarter-point cut itself is unlikely to shake markets much. Investors may focus more on hints and clues on how likely a January pause is, as well as on how many rate cuts policymakers are contemplating throughout 2025," said Charalampos Pissouros, senior investment analyst at brokerage XM, Reuters reported.

The US central bank will release its policy statement at 2 p.m. ET (1900 GMT), followed by remarks from Chair Jerome Powell.

Lower rates decrease borrowing costs, which can boost economic growth and demand for oil.

"Oil prices ought to see more of a reaction to the crude inventory draw seen in the API data overnight... however, such is the diverting power of central bank rate decisions that investors in all of the trading mediums are taking a very light touch to proceedings" said John Evans, analyst with oil broker PVM.

In the US, American Petroleum Institute data on Tuesday showed that crude stocks fell by 4.69 million barrels in the week ended Dec. 13, a source said. Gasoline inventories rose by 2.45 million barrels, and distillate stocks rose by 744,000 barrels, according to the source.

Analysts projected US energy firms pulled about 1.6 million barrels of crude from storage during the week ended Dec. 13, according to a Reuters poll on Tuesday.

The US Energy Information Administration will release its oil storage data on Wednesday.

"Trade war fears and uncertainty on how aggressively the US Fed will cut interest rates next year is likely capping the upside for now," UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.