Are Saudi Arabia's oil wells drying up?
This is just what the world economy does not need:
'If Citigroup is right, Saudi Arabia will cease to be an oil exporter by 2030, far sooner than previously thought.A 150-page report by Heidy Rehman on the Saudi petrochemical industry should be sober reading for those who think that shale oil and gas have solved our global energy crunch....
The basic point â?? common to other Gulf oil producers â?? is that Saudi local consumption is rocketing. Residential use makes up 50pc of demand, and over two thirds of that is air-conditioning.
The Saudis also consume 250 litres per head per day of water â?? the world's third highest (which blows the mind), growing at 9pc a year â?? and most of this is provided from energy-guzzling desalination plants.
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The study predicts that the Kingdom could be a net importer of oil starting as soon as 2030. Needless to say, the consequences of such a move would be profound. Saudi Arabia would not only see its strategic weight plummet, but (more importantly) global energy supplies would be that much tighter.