Saudi Aramco is preparing a reorganisation that would create a standalone natural gas division, while the company is also considering a minority listing of the business to raise fresh capital, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.

The Saudi energy giant would move from its current upstream and downstream structure to three main divisions, each headed by its own president. The new gas unit would bring together Aramco’s domestic gas development and its overseas liquefied natural gas, or LNG, investments. Aramco did not comment on the report.

Jafurah at the centre of the expansion

Much of that growth will come from Jafurah, a vast shale gas basin in eastern Saudi Arabia. The field covers around 17,000 sq km and contains an estimated 229 trillion cubic feet of raw gas, equivalent to nearly 6.5 trillion cubic metres, according to Aramco.

Production began in December 2025. Aramco plans to raise sales gas output from Jafurah to 2 billion cubic feet per day by 2030, or around 57 million cubic metres a day, alongside significant volumes of ethane, condensates and natural gas liquids.

Jafurah is part of a broader gas expansion that also includes North Arabia and South Ghawar. Aramco is targeting an increase of around 80% in sales gas production capacity by 2030 compared with 2021.

Up to 500,000 barrels of crude could be displaced

Some of the additional gas is intended to replace oil currently used to generate electricity and supply domestic industry.

Aramco estimates that its unconventional gas programme could eventually displace the energy equivalent of around 500,000 barrels of crude oil per day. That would free more crude for refining, petrochemicals or exports.

$11 billion already raised

Expanding the gas business also requires significant financing. In 2025, Aramco completed an $11.1 billion transaction involving Jafurah gas-processing infrastructure with a consortium led by Global Infrastructure Partners, a BlackRock company.

The deal involved leasing the infrastructure to a newly created entity and leasing it back to Aramco for 20 years. Aramco retained a 51% stake in the venture and operational control of the facilities.

Reuters reported that a minority listing of the future gas business is among the options being considered, alongside further infrastructure-backed financing deals.

Building an LNG portfolio abroad

The new division would also oversee Aramco’s international LNG expansion. The company has been building a portfolio in the United States through a series of supply agreements and investments.

In January, Aramco signed a long-term agreement with Commonwealth LNG for 1 million tonnes of LNG a year, with an option to double that volume. It also has a 20-year agreement with NextDecade for 1.2 million tonnes a year from the Rio Grande LNG project in Texas.

The proposed reorganisation would give gas its own business structure inside Aramco as the company expands domestic production and builds a larger LNG portfolio overseas.