Saudi Arabia will need steadily higher crude oil prices to balance its budget, reaching $320 per barrel by 2030, unless it curbs domestic oil consumption, an economist and specialist on the kingdom said as reported by an industry newsletter.
International Oil Daily (IOD) reported that Brad Bourland, a private consultant and former chief economist at Saudi Arabia-based Jadwa Investment and Samba Financial, had outlined three trends that would make it hard for Riyadh to meet its fiscal obligations: a 1.5 percent rise in demand for Saudi oil per year; a 6 percent annual increase in domestic consumption; and state budgetary spending growth of 7 percent per year, in line with historical patterns.
Bourland's comments echoed the view of other experts that soaring Saudi energy consumption will cut into the kingdom's oil exports in the next two decades, with major implications for global markets.
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