Dammam! KSA resorts to reworking oldest field

[Pops]

KSA is re-opening it's oldest field, closed in the '80s because it's heavy sour wasn't wanted.

Aramco, the world’s largest oil exporter, is considering redeveloping the onshore field in response to “tight market conditions,” the London-based researcher said in the report issued yesterday. It shut Dammam, and several small fields, in the early 1980s due to low demand.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-1 ... -says.html

I know, another KSA "dot", LOL.

[Tanada]

RATS! I have been watching for this ever since I read Twilight in the Desert and found out it was a very old and capped field.

I have been wondering how much more they could get out of it with modern drilling techniques. This will be an acid test for sure, and should shut up the abiotic it will refill itself crowd, though I know it won't.

[seahorse3]

They are at the bottom of the barrel so to speak

[eXpat]

Saudi Arabia Cuts Oil Output, Export: Industry Report

The world’s top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, appears to have cut both its oil production and export in December, according to the latest update by the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI), an official source of oil production, consumption and export data.
The OPEC heavyweight saw production decline by 237,000 barrels per day (bpd) from three-decade highs of 10.047 million bpd in November, the JODI data showed on Sunday.

The draw-down was sharper for the actual amount exported, declining by 440,000 bpd, or 5.6 percent, to come in at 7.364 million bpd, the data also showed. The level would still be similar to exports after a steep ramp-up last June.

In its monthly report on February 10, the IEA put Saudi Arabia’s production number for December slightly lower at 9.55 million bpd, a disparity of 260,000 bpd versus the JODI data.

Iran appeared not to have filed data in time for the latest release, providing no additional clues about how many export barrels were already lost in December, as some reports have suggested.
JODI, an initiative coordinated by the International Energy Forum (IEF), depends on participating member states for data collection. The IEA estimated Iran’s oil supply in December to have been 3.45 million bpd, marking a drop of 100,000 bpd.

For the third month in a row, no details were available for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Libya, the immediate reasons for which are unclear.

Together with other Gulf oil exporters, the UAE has been in focus as a possible source of alternative supply for at least some of Iran’s crude. Widening sanctions have seen several Asian clients of Iran’s oil, including top importer China, send high-level delegations to the region in the last few weeks.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/46445698

[bratticus]

No Peak Oil - Why Then is Saudi Aramco Opening Old Wells for Heavy Crude?
James Burgess / OilPrice / February 17, 2012

In the 30 years since its closure the Dammam area has changed vastly and is now surrounded by metropolitan areas, which could make drilling for oil a very difficult challenge, and one that will receive much protest and opposition by local residents.

If you are wondering what sort of "local residents" might be counted among the protesters and opposition, here's a clue:

Dammam school may get into Guinness records
SIRAJ WAHAB / ARAB NEWS / February 14, 2012

The International Indian School in Dammam (IISD) might be listed as a Guinness World Record as the largest educational institution with 16,000 students, 800 teachers and 600 nonteaching staff.

As of yet, there is no official confirmation that the IISD is indeed the biggest school. Among the 13,500 schools affiliated with India’s Central Board of Secondary Education — both within the country and abroad — the IISD has the highest number of students.

Damman is also home to the Gulf Palace, which can be described as a crop circle/the-mother-ship-has-landed sort of structure.

Almost six-tenth's of a mile in diameter.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Dammam+34244+Saudi+Arabia&hl=en&sll=26.364438,50.134499&sspn=0.018861,0.026157&hnear=Dammam,+Eastern+Province+34244,+Saudi+Arabia&t=h&z=15