State-owned oil major Saudi Arabian Oil Co., or Saudi Aramco, said that the construction of its Midyan gas field in the kingdom's northwest is going steadily and on track, as part of its broader strategy to increase gas output to meet growing domestic demand.

"The development of the Midyan field is progressing steadily as planned on all levels to produce 75 million standard cubic feet of gas per day and 4,500 barrels [per day] of condensate," Chief Executive Khalid Al-Falih said in a statement posted on Aramco's website.

The Midyan gas plant, located about 195 kilometers west of Tabuk and 135 kilometers north of Duba, is expected to be fully operational by 2016. The field was discovered in 1992 and has significant gas reserves.

Aramco also plans to build two pipelines stretching a length of 98 kilometers to deliver sales gas and stabilized hydrocarbon liquids to a power plant near Duba to generate electricity and to avoid burning high value diesel

Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, plans to greatly increase gas production to meet domestic energy demand and free up crude oil for export. However, the country hasn't yet discovered non-associated natural gas in sufficient quantities to replace oil as the fuel for its planned electricity plants and guarantee cheap feedstock for new petrochemical factories.

Aramco is one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world with activities in exploration, production, refining, distribution, shipping and marketing.

The company's gas production averaged 10.72 billion cubic feet a day in 2012 from 9.88 billion cubic feet a day in 2011, while gas reserves rose to 284.8 trillion standard cubic feet from 282.6 trillion standard cubic feet.
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