Mr Ali al Naimi oil minister of Saudi Arabia said as saying that government has discovered commercially viable quantities of natural gas in the Red Sea and Empty Quarter but has no plans to immediately start production.

Mr Ibrahim Muhanna Mr Naimi's adviser said that the world's top oil exporter will continue to explore the country for tight gas and heavy oil for future energy needs. Although we continue to explore the kingdom's oil and gas potential and resources, this does not mean we will immediately start production from the newly discovered fields, rather it only means determining resources available in the kingdom for future use when needed.

He said that in this respect, I would like to point out the positive results. We have discovered commercially utilizable volumes of the various types of natural gas in the Red Sea, in the north of the kingdom and in the Rub al Khali.

Mr Naimi said that the kingdom will continue exploration for tight gas and heavy oil after making some discoveries. But I want to make it clear, again that the ultimate objective of these new explorations is not to extract oil now but rather to determine the kingdom's potential for the sake of coming generations, The discovered resources will be used based on commercial needs.

Saudi Arabia, which has kept its vast oil reserves off limits to foreigners needs gas to help cover domestic fuel demand and conserve oil for lucrative export markets.

Mr Khalid al Falih CEO of Saudi Aramco said last month his company would focus on gas in the short to medium term as raising oil production capacity beyond the current 12 million barrels per day was not needed.

Little has been announced in terms of how much gas has been found in the desert in Saudi Arabia's southeast known as the Rub al Khali or the Empty Quarter. Analysts have said finding gas alone would not be enough to guarantee profits.

Terms agreed with Aramco were so poor the consortia need to find condensate a form of light oil that can be sold at international market prices to cover the cost of development.

(Sourced from Reuters)