Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest state-run oil company, discovered a new oilfield in the Persian Gulf kingdom, the official Saudi Press Agency reported today, citing the country’s oil minister, Ali al-Naimi.

A well, known as Dirwazah-1, located 70 kilometers (44 miles) southeast of Ghawar, the world’s largest single oil deposit, pumped at least 3,915 barrels a day of crude and 11.9 million cubic feet a day of associated gas during tests, Saudi Aramco said in an e-mail.

Al-Naimi said last month that Saudi Arabia, also the largest producer in the 12-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, had 3 million barrels a day of spare oil output capacity.
Persian Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, which pump about a fifth of the world’s oil are investing billions of dollars to expand production facilities and search for new deposits as ageing fields decline.