State oil giant Saudi Aramco has started to operate a unit that will process offshore gas for its giant Wasit project, which is to help the kingdom meet surging domestic demand for electricity, industry sources said.

"One unit is finished and it is under the final stage of commissioning," said one source, who declined to be identified.

Aramco is focusing on adding gas capacity to meet the growing electricity needs of Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, especially when demand peaks in the summer.

"These are the final phases of the plant's start-up and indicate that Aramco is getting ready for the summer's peak gas demand by commissioning the MEG (monoethylene glycol) units in the Wasit plant in phases," Sadad Al-Husseini, a former senior Aramco executive, said.

Saudi Aramco declined to comment in an emailed response to Reuters queries.

By bringing the MEG units into operation, Saudi Aramco will secure 25 to 30 percent of the plant's capacity, which is 2.5 billion standard cubic feet per day, one of the sources said.

The Wasit gas programme is split into several offshore and onshore units. Onshore, Aramco has built a central processing facility, natural gas liquids fractionation facilities and a sulphur recovery unit. - Reuters