Energy
From The Report: Saudi Arabia 2013
View in Online Reader

Accounting for just under 30% of real GDP and providing roughly 80-90% of state revenue in any given year, the oil and gas sector has been the dominant force behind Saudi Arabia’s economy for decades. Seeking to cement its position as a front-runner in the global market, the government has continued to invest heavily in the sector over the last decade to boost capacity and develop new resources. These new discoveries, along with new, more efficient lifting technologies, have seen the Kingdom’s proven reserves increase over the past two decades in spite of rising extraction rates. Indeed, oil consumption in the Kingdom peaked at 2.86m bpd in 2011 and this growth shows no signs of stopping; it is predicted that the rate of consumption will double by 2030. Moreover, since achieving its target production capacity of 12m barrels per day, the nation is looking to continue its success by developing downstream refining and petrochemicals operations.

This chapter includes an interview with RPN Singh, Indian Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas. It also features viewpoints with Maria van der Hoeven, Executive Director, International Energy Agency; and Peter Voser, Global CEO, Shell.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Staying a step ahead: New facilities and growing production show long-term promise
OBG
plus

Accounting for just under 30% of real GDP and providing 80-90% of state revenue, the oil and gas sector has been the dominant force behind Saudi Arabia’s economy for decades. Seeking to cement its position as a front-runner in the global market, the government has continued to invest heavily over the last decade to boost capacity and develop new resources. The majority of these efforts are carried out via the state energy giant Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco), which has a hand in virtually…

Interview

OBG talks to RPN Singh, Indian Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas
OBG
plus

Interview: RPN Singh How have unconventional gas sources, such as shale, changed energy market dynamics? RPN SINGH: Unconventional gas sources are transforming the hydrocarbons sector. Just as oil is beginning to “peak”, the emergence of unconventional hydrocarbons as viable sources of energy means hydrocarbons will continue to be the primary or predominant source of energy in the world’s energy basket until the 2040s. It is understood that shale gas will make the US self-sufficient in natural…

Analysis

Digging deeper and deeper: Offshore blocks continue to be a significant part of exploratory efforts
OBG
plus

Despite possessing some of the largest crude reserves in the world, retaining the crown as the world’s preeminent oil exporter is not always easy. As the Kingdom’s own domestic consumption constitutes an ever-larger portion of its national crude output, the country’s oil producers are becoming involved in a continuous search for new sources of energy. These new discoveries along with new, more efficient lifting technologies have seen Saudi Arabia’s proven reserves increase over the past two…

Viewpoint

Maria van der Hoeven, Executive Director, International Energy Agency (IEA), on the Kingdom’s central role in global energy markets
OBG
plus

Saudi Arabia has long been a lynchpin of global oil and gas production, but its energy profile is changing. The Kingdom is becoming a rapidly growing energy consumer and a key player in the development of sustainable energy technologies. Saudi Arabia is sometimes called the “central bank” of the global oil industry. With over 260bn barrels of conventional reserves (nearly a fifth of the world’s total), the country can expect to continue producing oil for at least 70 years. At present, the Saudi…

Analysis

Over the long haul: Unconventional energy sources given attention with recent technology
OBG
plus

Traditionally viewed as a means to exploit technically challenging, marginal and maturing oil and gas reservoirs during periods when energy prices are high enough to offset greater production costs, the development of unconventional hydrocarbon sources has flourished around the world over the past decade from Southeast Asia to North America. With new technologies opening up vast new blocks of hydrocarbons resources for production, even oil-rich countries such as Saudi Arabia with their underground…

Viewpoint

OBG talks to Peter Voser, Global CEO, Shell
OBG
plus

Interview:Peter Voser Given shifting energy demand, how do you foresee the relationship between international and national oil companies evolving in the future? PETER VOSER: Global energy demand is set to double in the first half of this century. This will be driven by a rising global population, which has just reached 7bn and is set to jump to over 9bn by 2050, and by strong growth in emerging economies, as is already being seen by rising disposable incomes in the Middle East. And with higher…