Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant Aramco may soon open up a massive upstream asset to foreign investment. It would be a rare move for OPEC’s top oil producer and the world’s largest crude exporter, which operates all oil and gas upstream assets in the Kingdom under a multi-decade concession agreement. Saudi Aramco is now looking to monetize its assets on the one hand, and raise money for the enormous capital investments needed to develop new assets on the other hand.

　　Opening up asset developments is one of the ways to raise money, considering that the oil sales Aramco is bringing in for the Kingdom are still being used to reduce the government deficit that had shot up with the oil price crash last year. Aramco’s own capital budget is not unlimited either, since the oil giant is paying $75 billion in annual dividends to shareholders, the largest of which is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with more than 98 percent.

　　So, now Saudi Aramco is reportedly in early-stage talks with potential investors willing to help fund a massive $110 billion project to develop the Jafurah unconventional gas field, Bloomberg reports, citing sources with knowledge of the matter. Aramco has hired an adviser to explore the possibility of raising equity or debt to partially fund the development of the field and is in early talks with potential foreign investors, including commodity traders, according to Bloomberg’s sources.

　　Jafurah is the largest non-associated gas field in Saudi Arabia, says Aramco, which received in February 2020 the regulatory approval by the Kingdom’s top officials, including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to develop the asset. Back then, the company expected the giant gas field to start production in early 2024.

　　The pandemic delayed development plans of all oil and gas giants, including state-held companies such as Aramco, which revised down its capital budget last year and grew its debt amid low oil prices and the commitment to keep the huge dividends to shareholders flowing.

　　Now Aramco is getting ready to restart the Jafurah field development with the relaunch of tenders, industry sources told CNBC Arabiya earlier this month.

　　According to Bloomberg’s sources, the development of the giant unconventional gas field could be partially funded by foreign investors if Aramco proceeds with the idea to raise money by opening the upstream asset to external investment.