U.A.E. Finds World’s Biggest Gas Field Since 2005

[thackney]

U.A.E. Finds World’s Biggest Gas Field Since 2005
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-03/abu-dhabi-dubai-make-gas-discovery-in-push-for-self-sufficiency
February 3, 2020

Dubai and Abu Dhabi made what could be the world’s largest natural gas discovery since 2005 as the two biggest sheikhdoms in the United Arab Emirates aim to push the country to energy self sufficiency.

The Jebel Ali reservoir located between the two emirates has 80 trillion cubic feet of gas resources, according to tweets by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi’s crown prince, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the U.A.E.’s prime minister and Dubai’s ruler. The country is seeking to become self-sufficiency in gas supply by 2030, a step that would allow it to break its reliance on imports from Qatar, with which it has been locked in a 2 1/2-year diplomatic dispute...

[thackney]

https://www.thenational.ae/business/energy/jebel-ali-gas-reservoir-discovery-the-largest-in-15-years-1.973533

...On Sunday, state-owned Adnoc and the Dubai Supply Authority signed an agreement to explore the resources jointly.

Around 10 exploration and appraisal wells were drilled by Adnoc in its first-ever exploration in Dubai over 5,000 square kilometres of land between Saih As Sidirah and Jebel Ali.

Shallow gas refers to organic gas found in relatively shallow depths below the ground's surface. The shallow nature of the resource will also ensure that the development costs of gas production will be lower than unlocking Abu Dhabi's sour gas caps, Mr Yates said.

Sour gas refers to gas reserves containing significant volumes of sulphur. Much of the gas in Abu Dhabi is sour, with Adnoc spending billions of dollars developing gas reserves previously deemed uneconomical, especially in Hail and Ghasha, alongside foreign partners....

[Bigun]

They may now be touting this as a "new" discovery but those of us who were working in that area knew about it in the late 1980s.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

I find it kinda tough to believe one can discover shallow resources of this size after all the exploration over past decades.

It may be more of a Marcellus-type 'discovery' wherein the resource was known but technically challenging.

[Smokin Joe]

I find it kinda tough to believe one can discover shallow resources of this size after all the exploration over past decades.

It may be more of a Marcellus-type 'discovery' wherein the resource was known but technically challenging.

There are resources all over which have been ignored for various reasons, chief among them: "Everyone knows you can't produce that" and "Everyone knows there is nothing there".

Shallow resources are remarkably easy to ignore as wells target deeper formations. You only see what you look for, unless you have the uncommon sense to take advantage of serendipity.