Energy in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia's economy is petroleum-based; oil accounts for 90% of the country's exports and nearly 75% of government revenue.
[1] The oil industry produces about 45% of Saudi Arabia's gross domestic product, against 40% from the private sector.
Saudi Arabia is prioritising upstream gas investment, but for use in the domestic power generation market, not for export.
[6] The country has had plans to diversify its energy sources for some time, developing solar[7] and nuclear power.
[11] Aramco announced 16,000 m3 (100,000 bbl) per day expansion and integration with neighboring petrochemical plants in Ras Tanura and Yanbu by 2010 to 2012.
[13] House states, "no convincing evidence ever has been provided to support the increase [in Saudi oil reserves].
And tellingly, in 1982 the kingdom and other OPEC oil producers ceased releasing production data by field. ...
The new fields are Haradh, Khurais, Khusaniyah, Manifa, Neutral Zone (shared with Kuwait), Nuayyin and Shaybah I II & III.
Ras Tanura is the world's largest offshore oil loading facility with 6 million barrels per day (950×10^3 m3/d) capacity.
[2] The enormous sea shipping capacity is vital to Saudi Arabia given the absence of international pipelines.
[16] According to Jim Krane, "Saudi Arabia now consumes more oil than Germany, an industrialized country with triple the population and an economy nearly five times as large.
In a recent interview with CBS, they asked Saudi Arabia's oil minister the following question: "Let me be blunt, okay?
The World Trade Organization criticized the government and Aramco for heavily subsidizing natural gas.
[2] On January 1, 2016, the domestic price of natural gas was raised to $4.3 per megawatt-hour ($1.25 per million British thermal units).
[23] In January 2020, Aramco announced a $1.85 billion investment to set up the first natural gas storage facility in Saudi Arabia.
[26] Saudi Arabia is the fastest growing electricity consumer in the Middle East, particularly of transportation fuels.
Its stated purpose is "to prepare a comprehensive plan to establish water and sewage networks all over the Kingdom.
[29] Electricity consumption in Saudi Arabia increased sharply during the 1990–2010 period due to rapid economic development.
The facility will process 180 tons of waste per day, producing 6 MW of electricity and 250,000 US gallons (950 m3) of distilled water.
Although progress has been made, remaining challenges, include high demand growth, low generation capacity reserve margins, in efficient energy use, absence of time-of-use rate adjustments, and the need for large capital investments to fund expansion.
Typically, investment in energy efficiency is 1% of utility sales revenues, which for a country like Saudi Arabia could be $15–60 million annually.
In 1975 (1395 AH), the Government adopted ambitious plans for economic development requiring investment in industry and electrification.
With the formulation of a coherent development plan and the establishment of the SCECOs, the Government was able to bring electricity to the towns, villages and settlements throughout the Kingdom.
Key projects include the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center's solar endeavor and Saudi Aramco's PV carport system.
[34] They have been negotiating with France, China, Japan, Korea, Russia, and Argentina over access to nuclear technology.
That year, Assystem, a French engineering company, carried out detailed site characterization studies for Saudi Arabia's proposed nuclear plant, which is planned to have two reactors with a total capacity of 1.2 to 1.6 gigawatts (GW).
[29] The nuclear ambitions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have led to heightened concern in the United States Congress, especially since the crown prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman, claimed in 2018 that the country will immediately follow suit if regional rival Iran developed a nuclear bomb.
A 17 September 2020 publication by The Guardian claimed that Saudi Arabia holds enough reserves to mine uranium ore to produce nuclear fuel, raising concerns regarding the Gulf nation's interest in the atomic weapons program.
[36] Forbes ranked Mohammed Al Amoudi as richest Saudi Arabian in energy business in 2013.
