Saudi Aramco starts gas megaproject

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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, April 24 (UPI) -- A natural gas processing facility for the Karan natural gas field in Saudi Arabia was completed seven weeks ahead of schedule, the Saudi Arabian Oil Co. said.

Saudi Arabian Oil Co., the state-run petroleum company known also as Saudi Aramco, stated that the project passed a "milestone" with the start-up of a natural gas processing facility, "seven weeks ahead of schedule."

The company said Phase II of the project is nearly completed. It can process up to 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from the offshore Karan field.

Phase I, completed last year, brought production capacity to 500 million cubic feet of natural gas. By next year, the company said, the facility could process as much as 1.8 billion cubic feet.

Riyadh said the facility is part of an investment in securing domestic demands for natural gas.

Platforms for the offshore field are operated remotely and controlled from an onshore facility.