"Offshore exploration activities in the Arabian Gulf and the Red Sea are moving aggressively forward. During the next 10-year period, Saudi Aramco will add 50 trillion cubic feet of non-associated gas reserves," Al Naim told delegates at the recent energy forum in Dammam while detailing the company's efforts to bolster natural gas supplies to support the Kingdom's growing petrochemicals industry.

He said that the significant finds would add millions of cubic feet per day of natural gas to Saudi Arabia's energy stream.

"Three decades ago, Saudi Arabia developed a natural gas strategy centred on the Master Gas System (MGS) — the largest gas production and processing network of its kind," Al Naim said.

"Today, the Master Gas System is the backbone of Saudi Arabia's industrial sector and powers utilities across the country. The MGS will help provide gas supply to the Kingdom's growing petrochemical industry," he said and added that the key to the industry is a reliable supply of gas to serve as petrochemical feedstock.

"Since the 1994 gas exploration programme began, Saudi Aramco has added over 72 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves from the Khuff, Unayzah and Jauf reservoirs," Al Naim said. He described the progress of the Ghazal gas field from exploration to discovery in just three years.

"Ghazal was discovered in 2000, and since that time we have drilled 25 development gas wells," he said, and added that output from the field was expected to nearly double within two years.

Gas development also is taking place offshore, and Al-Naim described a giant gas discovery in the Arabian Gulf earlier this year that he said had the highest flowing gas rate encountered so far in the ancient Khuff formation thousands of feet below the surface.

Prince Faisal bin Turki, adviser to the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, and the driving force behind the Saudi hydrocarbon policy, said that the Saudi government is pursuing a policy to encourage industries in the kingdom that depend on its hydrocarbon resources.

Khalid Al Senani, manager, gas supply and pricing department, Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, said that the Kingdom's hydrocarbon and mineral policy broadly aims at creating jobs, wealth and prosperity through sustained economic and individual growth through economic diversification,

The Saudi gas reserves are estimated today at 242 trillion cu.ft. Gas demand in the Kingdom is set to grow three fold, from five billion cubic feet per day (BCFD) to 14.5 BCFD by 2030, and the Kingdom has already added 48 trillion cubic feet to its gas reserves in the last decade.

Mohammed Al Mady, vice-chairman and CEO of SABIC said that the Saudi petrochemicals output was expected to go up from 40 million MT/ year in 2005 to 75 million MT/year by 2010. The Kingdom's share in the global petrochemicals industry would hence go up from seven percent to 13 per cent in the same period.

Al Naim said that with gas reserves exceeding 2,585 trillion cubic feet, the Middle East has already overtaken Russia as far as gas reserves are concerned.