By: AGBI

Saudi Arabia’s oil rig count dropped to its lowest level in more than 20 years, as the kingdom focuses on expanding its natural gas infrastructure, according to a media report.

The operational rig numbers fell for a sixth straight month to 20 in July 2025 from 46 in early 2024, the lowest level since February 2005, Bloomberg reported, quoting data from oilfield services company Baker Hughes.

On January 30, 2024 Saudi-listed Aramco said that, on government direction, it was scrapping plans to expand to 13 million barrels per day capacity by 2027 from the current 12 million bpd. 

Several oilfield expansion projects to help maintain capacity “are finished or are mostly done,” the news agency reported, citing Robin Mills, founder of Dubai-based consultant Qamar Energy and an AGBI columnist.

In April 2024 Aramco awarded engineering, procurement and construction contracts worth $8 billion for a major expansion of its Fadhili gas plant in the Eastern Province as part of its strategy to build on its natural gas reserves to free more crude oil for value-added refining and export. 

Last month Reuters reported that a group led by US asset manager BlackRock is in talks to invest around $10 billion in a pipeline and gas-fired power plants associated with Aramco’s giant Jafurah shale gas project.

The $100 billion Jafurah scheme, one of the biggest shale gas projects outside the United States, is central to the oil giant’s ambitions to become a major global player in natural gas and to boost its gas production capacity by 60 percent by 2030 from 2021 levels.

Aramco is facing declining revenues due to a fall in oil prices, exacerbated by an Opec+ decision to increase oil production.

The company has cut dividends for 2025 by more than $40 billion compared to last year, but has not announced any intentions to cut back on its investment plans.