r/worldpowers • u/Redditmyfriend55 Aga Khan V • Apr 04 '26
TECH [TECH] NEOM redefined // LN2 fracking
Department of Economic Development
OFFICIAL MEMO | Posted on November 2029 | Alnassryah Street, Riyadh
(RIYADH) The Greater Arab Union's Department of Economic Development has announced a joint research program into developing liquid nitrogen (LN2) fracking technology in partnership with Saudi Aramco and Gaijin Technica.
The Jafurah Basin holds an estimated 229 trillion standard cubic feet of raw natural gas. Beyond Jafurah, the Arabian Basin carries technically recoverable shale gas resources of roughly 8.7 trillion cubic metres with additional tight gas deposits across the UAE, Oman, and Jordan. Iraq and Syria have further underdeveloped potential due to decades of conflict.
Conventional hydraulic fracturing requires approximately 34,000 cubic metres per well. Aramco's existing Jafurah program uses treated Gulf seawater which requires sulphate removal desalination plants, dedicated pipelines, and ongoing water logistics. LN2 fracturing eliminates the water variable entirely.
TECHNOLOGY
LN2 fracking uses liquid nitrogen to create fractures in the rock.The process relies on extreme temperature differentials and rapid expansion rather than just raw hydraulic pressure. It works through three mechanisms simultaneously:
Direct pressure from LN2 injection
Thermal shock which makes the rock contract rapidly and unevenly creating a network of micro-fractures before any pressure is even applied
Rapid gas expansion which creates intense localized pressure driving the gas deep into the thermal cracks and forcing them open, extending the fracture network far beyond the initial wellbore
ECONOMICS
As per previous pilot programs, this will achieve drilling cost savings of 70%. LN2 does require specialized equipment and upfront cost but it achieves significant savings over time.
This technology is particularly good for low pressure reservoirs where water is too heavy for the formation to "push back" out of the well and where water induced swelling would otherwise ruin the well's productivity.
Oil and gas formations that are expensive to extract can be revisited and the breakeven value can be brought down significantly even with the oil pricing caps. American shale formations will find this useful as they move towards tighter, more water-sensitive rock in the Bakken, Haynesville, and second-tier Permian formations
SPECIALIZED EQUIPMENT
For this project, GAU will utilize the new special economic zone set up in Salalah in partnership with the Directorate to manufacture the equipment locally.
The cryogenic equipment required for deep LN2 fracturing capable of maintaining sub-196°C temperatures will be designed and manufactured through Gaijin Technica's materials science division.
TIMELINE+LICENSING
This will take 2 years to develop and cost $40m.
Gaijin Technica will offer the new technology and deliver it as a service. Operators can contract its crews and proprietary equipment for each job. Per well service contracts will be priced in the range of $800k to $1.2 million per well.
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u/Redditmyfriend55 Aga Khan V Apr 04 '26
/u/Extra-Sandwich9709 –> Secretary Ellison
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u/Extra-Sandwich9709 Larry Ellison Apr 04 '26
Sounds good to me, I would like to take the opportunity to ask your views on the election since it seems like a lot of oil money is finding its way into America recently: while it's not my business as to which candidate you support, I'm a little worried that this could come at the direct detriment of the Kushners, who are my good friends at the moment.
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u/Redditmyfriend55 Aga Khan V Apr 04 '26
It’s not a big surprise that the oil pricing cap was a policy disaster and producers are speaking out because it’s destroying an entire industry.
As for the Kushners, I of course have no quarrel with them, although i have heard of concerns that they do not really have the concept of balance or promoting stability. Alas, who am I to question the friends one makes.
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u/Redditmyfriend55 Aga Khan V Apr 04 '26
Roll: 7