Saudi Arabia to develop Midyan gas field in 2013

Saudi Arabia will develop its Midyan natural gas field in the Red Sea in 2013, oil minister Ali Naimi said in comments reported on Tuesday in local media.

"The Midyan field will be developed in 2013 and it would start production within a short period. It would boost electric power plants run by gas instead of diesel, and both electricity and gas would reach industrial zones," he said in the northern city of Tabuk, Saudi Gazette reported.

Saudi Aramco will drill seven deep sea and offshore wells and build facilities at nearby Duba, its chief executive Khalid al-Falih said in Tabuk, Saudi Gazette reported.

The world's top oil exporter is attempting to boost its output of natural gas, which it needs to meet rapidly climbing domestic power demand and to supply its strategically important petrochemical industry with raw materials.

Midyan was discovered in the 1980s but has not yet been developed.