Saudi Arabia Energy

Local scientists and engineers working in Saudi Arabia’s laboratories and on its test rigs have been making significant research and development (R&D) gains in the energy technology sector in recent years. In 2014, Saudi Aramco set a new record for inventiveness and innovation – 99 patents were granted to the company in the US, while an...

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 which the government hopes will become the third pillar of the economy, after oil and petrochemicals.

The emergence of two mining cities in Saudi Arabia could galvanise further private sector investment both upstream and downstream, with a host of new rail linkages set to sweeten the deal.

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...

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...

With little rainfall, scarce and depleting groundwater and high consumption per capita (see overview), Saudi Arabia is heavily reliant on desalination for water provision. As a consequence, the Kingdom is now the largest producer of desalinated water in the world and is investing heavily in new plants to keep up with demand,...