BlackRock, Aramco, and the Jafurah Model: How $35 Billion in Foreign Capital Actually Works in Saudi Arabia

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In February 2026, the first tanker of ultra-light crude oil — condensate extracted from the Jafurah gas field in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province — loaded at Yanbu port bound for Chevron. Two more cargoes followed in March: one to ExxonMobil, one to Indian Oil Corporation. The pricing: a premium of $2-3 per barrel above Dubai quotes, free-on-board basis. The export capacity: four to six cargoes per month, approximately 500,000 barrels per cargo, shipped through the Red Sea port that now handles 80-85 per cent of Saudi oil exports while the Strait of Hormuz remains contested.

Jafurah Gas Field

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Definition

The Jafurah Gas Field is Saudi Arabia’s largest unconventional gas development in 2026, a tight-gas reservoir in the Eastern Province being developed by Saudi Aramco. With an estimated investment of USD 110 billion, it is designed to produce 2 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day and position the Kingdom as a major gas and chemicals exporter.

Overview

Discovered and delineated by Saudi Aramco, the Jafurah basin covers approximately 17,000 square kilometres south of the Ghawar oil field. The field contains substantial reserves of unconventional tight gas and significant volumes of gas liquids and condensate. Development of Jafurah represents Saudi Arabia’s most ambitious natural gas project and its first large-scale unconventional gas development.

Gas on SAUDI VISION 2030 Intelligence Platform

BlackRock, Aramco, and the Jafurah Model: How $35 Billion in Foreign Capital Actually Works in Saudi Arabia

Jafurah Gas Field

Definition

Overview