Faced with increasing consumer demand, the water and power sector is receiving a $37.5bn injection of state funding in 2014. These projects, chiefly in power generation, will be accompanied by a restructuring of the mostly state-owned power company that accounts for 85% of public supply. Electricity subsidies remain in place, with consumer prices near production costs, making them well below...
Saudi Arabia Energy
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Already the world’s largest oil producer and second-largest repository of reserves, Saudi Arabia is now looking to boost output of natural gas, including through deep-water and unconventional exploration, as well as to increase refining output. Total oil production in 2013 was 11.53m barrels a day, down 1.1% on 2012’s record levels, but still amounting to 13.1% of global output.
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Home to an estimated 15.9% of the world’s proven oil reserves, Saudi Arabia is the single largest economy in the Middle East and North Africa. According to the Ministry of Finance, real GDP grew by 3.8% to $746bn in 2013. While oil income is expected to continue to account for the majority of government revenues for the foreseeable future, the non-oil sector has expanded significantly in recent decades growing 9.3% in 2013.
Hydrocarbons are not the only underground resource to yield billions of dollars of profit in Saudi Arabia. The mining of metallic ores, phosphates, bauxite and construction materials is an area of growth that the government hopes will become the third pillar of the economy, after oil and petrochemicals. Indeed, Saudi Arabia encompasses geologically diverse areas that contain a wealth of resources...
The utilities sector is enjoying huge investments into expansions and capacity upgrades, with around SR500bn ($133.25bn) to flow into the electricity and water segments in the coming decade. Saudi Arabia has ambitious plans to build up renewable electricity generation capacity, in particular solar power, to address rapidly rising energy consumption. The Kingdom is investing in water desalination...
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....