South Rub Al-Khali Company (SRAK), a joint venture between Saudi Aramco, Royal Dutch/Shell and Total, said it had started digging its first gas well in Saudi Arabia’s Empty Quarter.

SRAK began exploring in 2004 for gas, condensate and natural gas liquids in nine blocks in two separate parts of the vast desert area of southeast Saudi Arabia, known in Arabic as the Rub Al-Khali (“empty quarter”).
“The spudding comes after important regional geographical work to understand the petroleum systems in this area... The well is considered a rank wildcat... The well is anticipated to take up to four months to drill,” a statement said.
“A second drilling rig is planned to be mobilised to the area in 2007,” it added.
SRAK, which won rights to seek gas in the 210,000 square km bloc in November 2003, has said it does not expect to produce the first gas until 2009 at the earliest.
Three other consortia of Russian, Chinese and European firms were awarded smaller exploration blocs in the Empty Quarter in a second round of concessions in January 2004.
The awards were pared down from an ambitious $25 billion gas initiative which originally included power and water desalination projects.