Saudi Aramco is in early-stage talks with potential equity investors that would help fund a huge $110 billion unconventional gas field development in the Kingdom, sources with knowledge of the negotiations told Bloomberg on Monday.  

Aramco is seeking investors to back the field development of Jafurah, the largest non-associated gas field in Saudi Arabia, as the world’s top crude oil exporter looks to develop its gas assets to reduce dependence on oil for power generation and free up more crude for exports.

Saudi oil giant Aramco has therefore contacted private equity firms and infrastructure funds that could invest in the midstream and downstream projects associated with the huge gas field, Bloomberg’s sources said.

The Jafurah gas field is estimated to have 200 trillion cubic feet of rich raw gas, which will provide a valuable feedstock for the petrochemical industries, Aramco said in early 2020, when it announced the regulatory approval of the gas field’s development.