Saudi Arabia, long the world's dominant crude oil exporter, is now targeting a leading role in the Saudi Arabia natural gas 2030 race. Currently ranked ninth among global gas producers — supplying mostly domestic needs — the kingdom has laid out an ambitious blueprint under Vision 2030 to grow gas output by more than 60% over 2021 levels before the decade closes.
Saudi Aramco's $25 Billion Gas Expansion
Saudi Aramco unveiled a sweeping $25 billion contract-award programme in 2024 to accelerate its gas strategy across two flagship projects: the Master Gas System Phase 3 and the Jafurah unconventional gas field Phase 2.
The moves reflect a deliberate pivot: replacing crude oil burned in domestic power generation with gas, freeing up barrels for export revenue, and establishing Saudi Arabia as a credible global gas exporter alongside its petrochemical ambitions.
Master Gas System Phase 3: 4,000 km of New Pipelines
Aramco awarded 15 lump-sum turnkey contracts worth approximately $8.8 billion to expand the Master Gas System (MGS) — the backbone network that delivers gas to customers across the kingdom.
Phase 3 of the MGS will:
- Install around 4,000 kilometres of new pipelines - Construct 17 new gas compression trains - Raise total network capacity by an additional 3.15 billion standard cubic feet per day (bscfd) by 2028 - Connect additional cities to the gas grid
The expansion is being conducted in collaboration with Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy and will directly support the kingdom's target of substituting gas for crude oil in power generation — a shift that could free up to 350,000 barrels per day for export by 2030.
Jafurah Unconventional Gas Field: The Kingdom's Shale Gamble
Sixteen contracts worth a combined $12.4 billion were awarded for Phase 2 development at the Jafurah gas field, the Middle East's largest unconventional gas reserve. Jafurah holds an estimated 229 trillion standard cubic feet of raw gas and 75 billion stock-tank barrels of condensate.
Phase 2 investment covers:
- Construction of gas compression facilities and associated pipelines - Expansion of the Jafurah Gas Plant, including new processing trains and sulfur and export facilities - Construction of the new Riyas NGL fractionation facilities in Jubail for processing natural gas liquids extracted from Jafurah
Aramco expects sustainable sales gas production at Jafurah to reach 2 billion standard cubic feet per day by 2030, contributing to an overall 80% growth in the company's total gas and liquids production capacity from 2021 levels. Total lifecycle investment at Jafurah is forecast to exceed $100 billion.
Supply Challenges on the Path to 2030
Despite the scale of investment, the kingdom has acknowledged that projected 2030 production may still fall short of meeting both surging domestic energy demand and export ambitions simultaneously. Rapid growth in electricity consumption — alongside the deliberate switch from oil to gas in power generation — will place heavy strain on available supply. Jafurah's reserves are substantial, but current production estimates may not fully eliminate the kingdom's oil dependency in power generation before 2030.
Aligning with Global Energy Security Goals
The kingdom's gas pivot aligns with global energy security trends, particularly the search for stable LNG and pipeline gas supplies that accelerated after geopolitical disruptions to conventional energy flows. By diversifying its export profile, Saudi Arabia aims to reduce economic concentration risk, strengthen fiscal resilience, and play a larger role in setting global gas market terms.
Saudi Arabia's $25 billion commitment is a signal that Vision 2030's energy transformation is not just about renewable targets — it is also about dominating the next phase of hydrocarbon trade.
