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Saudi Arabia’s Crude Oil Exports Slumped to an 11-Month Low in July

By Charles Kennedy - Sep 19, 2024,

Saudi Arabia exported 5.74 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil in July, down by 306,000 bpd from June, and the lowest export level since August 2023, the latest data from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) showed on Thursday.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s top crude oil exporter, typically lowers its crude oil exports in the summer as it uses more crude domestically for direct burn at power plants. Electricity demand in the desert in the summer months is soaring amid scorching temperatures.
Saudi Arabia saw its direct use of crude rise by 211,000 bpd in July, to 770,000 bpd, a 7-month high, according to the JODI data which compiles self-reported figures from individual countries.

Crude oil production in Saudi Arabia increased in July, by 111,000 bpd to 8.94 million bpd. Despite the rise in production, exports fell, suggesting that the increase was used up by direct crude use for power generation.

Even with the July rise in crude oil production, Saudi Arabia fulfilled its pledge to keep output “at around 9 million bpd” as it said when it announced its voluntary 1-million-bpd cut on top of its share of reduction as part of the OPEC+ deal.

Going forward, Saudi Arabia is looking to attract more customers in Asia, where demand has underwhelmed so far this year.

Earlier in September, the Kingdom slashed its official selling prices (OSPs) for October to Asia, amid worsening refining margins in China and the wider Asian region and weaker Dubai benchmark prices.
The price of Saudi Arabia’s flagship grade, Arab Light, to Asia for October was cut by $0.70 per barrel compared to the September pricing.

As a result, demand from the largest refiners in China has increased, while nominations from major private refiners with allocated import quotas have held stable for the next month.

The Hydrogen Stream: NEOM starts recruitment campaign for “world’s largest” green hydrogen plant construction
The green hydrogen plant, which is an equal joint venture between ACWA Power, Air Products and NEOM, will produce up to 600 tonnes of carbon-free fuel daily when fully operational at the end of 2026.

August 23, 2024 Sergio Matalucci

NEOM Green Hydrogen Company (NGHC) has announced a “recruitment drive” for the construction and operations phases of the world’s largest green hydrogen plant in Oxagon, Saudi Arabia. “This initiative aims to build a strong, talented team across various functions, including Corporate, EHSS, Risk, Operations & Maintenance, Finance, IT & Cyber Security, as the construction of the green hydrogen plant continues to progress on schedule,” said the company. An equal joint venture between ACWA Power, Air Products and NEOM, the green hydrogen plant will produce up to 600 tonnes of carbon-free fuel daily when fully operational at the end of 2026. China's Sungrow recently said that it will provide its inverter skid technology and 1+X modular inverter solution for a 2.2 GW solar plant in Oxagon. NGHC’s wind park will ultimately feature more than 250 wind turbines.

Ivanhoe Electric and Ma'aden Joint Venture Commences Drilling Activities in Saudi Arabia

Aug 19, 2024
Initial Program Testing Chargeability Anomaly Identified by Typhoon™ and Computational Geosciences' Inversion Software

Typhoon™ Survey Near Ma'aden's Al Amar Gold-Copper-Zinc Mine Now Exceeds 155 km2
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ACWA Power commissions 700 MW photovoltaic plant in Saudi Arabia

August 18, 2024 evwind

The plant has begun power generation after receiving a commercial operations certificate from its off-taker, the company stated on Tadawul.
In 2022, ACWA Power signed a power purchase agreement to develop the project in Al Qassim province.
ACWA Power, which holds a 40.1 percent stake in AlRass Renewable Energy Co., noted that the plant’s financial impact will be reflected in the second half of this year.

Saudi energy giant ACWA Power has commissioned the 700-megawatt AlRass1 Solar Photovoltaic Project, furthering the Kingdom’s renewable energy goals.

The plant has begun power generation after receiving a commercial operations certificate from its off-taker, the company stated on Tadawul.

ACWA Power commissions 700 MW photovoltaic plant in Saudi Arabia
August 18, 2024 reve
The plant has begun power generation after receiving a commercial operations certificate from its off-taker, the company stated on Tadawul.
In 2022, ACWA Power signed a power purchase agreement to develop the project in Al Qassim province.
ACWA Power, which holds a 40.1 percent stake in AlRass Renewable Energy Co., noted that the plant’s financial impact will be reflected in the second half of this year.

Saudi energy giant ACWA Power has commissioned the 700-megawatt AlRass1 Solar Photovoltaic Project, furthering the Kingdom’s renewable energy goals.

The plant has begun power generation after receiving a commercial operations certificate from its off-taker, the company stated on Tadawul.
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China’s CEEC wins 2 GW solar project in Saudi Arabia
China Energy Engineering Corp. (CEEC), via its subsidiaries, has signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for a 2 GW solar installation in Saudi Arabia. It will handle the project in collaboration with a project company established by ACWA Power Company.

August 14, 2024 Patrick Jowett

CEEC has secured a contract to build a 2 GW solar project in Saudi Arabia.

It has signed an EPC contract through a consortium of three subsidiaries: China Energy International Group, China Energy Engineering Group Guangdong Thermal Power Engineering, and China Electric Power Engineering Consulting Group Northwest Electric Power Design Institute. The contract also includes Buraiq Renewable Energy, a project company established by Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power.

The Haden 2 GW solar project, worth approximately $972 million, is being built in western Saudi Arabia, approximately 93 km northeast of Taif, Makkah province.

The project will encompass engineering design, equipment procurement, transportation, installation, civil construction, transmission lines, substations, and grid-connected commissioning of the power station. Construction is expected to take around 31 months.

Earlier this month, CEEC launched a 15 GW inverter procurement plan. Inverter manufacturers such as Sungrow, Huawei, Sineng, Growatt, Kstar, and TBEA are participating in the scheme.

Goldman Says Saudi Arabia to Reduce Big Spending on Oil Sector

by Bloomberg|Abeer Abu Omar | Friday, August 16, 2024

Saudi Arabia is expected to put less money into the oil industry than initially predicted in its goal to invest $1 trillion in strategic sectors by the end of the decade.

The Gulf kingdom will likely direct the majority of its funds, around 73% of total investments, into non-oil sectors by 2030, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc., a shift from the bank’s earlier estimate of 66%.

The increased allocation toward non-oil investments leaves only a quarter of the remaining funds for oil sectors, as the kingdom focuses on industries that enable its diversification including metals and minerals, transport and logistics, and digitalization.

Under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s economic transformation plan Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia has opened up its economy to new avenues, investing in new sectors and re-branding the country’s image. A big goal in the vision is to reduce reliance on crude sales.

Although capex in the oil sector is likely to shrink by $40 billion between now and 2028, natural gas continues to be “a key contributor to the country’s decarbonization, economic development, and diversification plans,” Faisal AlAzmeh, head of CEEMEA equity research at Goldman wrote in a report.

With Brent crude prices currently hovering around $80 a barrel and with Saudi oil production down to around 9 million barrels a day, the kingdom faces the rising threat of a widening budget deficit.

The government’s oil earnings have dropped around one-third from 2022 levels, when oil prices averaged nearly $100 a barrel.

Saudi Arabia’s second-quarter budget shortfall came in at 15.3 billion riyals ($4.1 billion), showing just how reliant the government still is on hydrocarbon revenue. Authorities expect the budget will be in the red for at least several years. Goldman’s own research expects the deficit will widen to 4.3% of gross domestic product this year, up from 2% last year.

Still, progress in financing new sectors is picking up, with an uptick in renewable energy investments, according to Goldman’s research. Clean energy is seen receiving $235 billion in funding, up from a previous estimate of $148 billion as the kingdom more than doubles its capacity target by the end of the decade.

Saudi Arabia signs deals for 30 GW domestic solar photovoltaic manufacturing

July 18, 2024 evwind

One of the deals aims to build a 20 GW ingot and wafer solar photovoltaic manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has signed two solar PV manufacturing agreements with Chinese manufacturers JinkoSolar and TCL Zhonghuan Renewable Energy.

Both deals, done through joint ventures (JVs), will bring 30 GW of solar PV manufacturing, from ingots to modules, to Saudi Arabia. The agreements have been signed by Renewable Energy Localization Company (RELC), a company 100% owned by PIF, together with the participation of Saudi renewable energy investor Vision Industries (VI) and Chinese manufacturers.

One of the two solar manufacturing deals was signed with Lumetech, a subsidiary of Chinese solar manufacturer TCL Zhonghuan Renewable Energy. This agreement would allow domestic manufacturing of ingots and wafers with a nominal annual capacity of 20 GW.

The facility will be built and financed through a joint venture between Lumetech, RELC and Vision Industries. Lumetech and RELC will own 40% of the capital and VI the remaining 20%.

On the other hand, the agreement signed with JinkoSolar aims to bring 10 GW of annual nominal capacity of n-type solar cells and modules of domestic photovoltaic manufacturing capacity to Saudi Arabia. Although the agreement does not specify the technology used, JinkoSolar primarily manufactures tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) products. The Chinese manufacturer aims to phase out its p-type production capacity and reach 90% of the total capacity produced from n-type by the end of the year.

Similar to the Lumetech deal, JinkoSolar and RELC will own 40% of the equity capital and VI will own the remaining 20%.

The timeline and location for the construction of both manufacturing plants has not been revealed so far. However, JinkoSolar said the development and construction schedule will be “subject to market conditions.”

Yazeed Al-Humied, Deputy Governor and Director of MENA Investments at PIF, said: “The new agreements are part of PIF’s efforts to localize advanced technologies in the renewable sector in Saudi Arabia and deliver on commitments to increase the proportion of local content as well as as well as how to contribute to localizing the production of 75% of the components of Saudi Arabia’s renewable projects by 2030, in line with the National Renewable Energy Program of the Ministry of Energy.

“These projects will also allow Saudi Arabia to become a global hub for the export of renewable technologies.”
Offshoring of photovoltaic manufacturing in the Middle East

IMF Cuts Saudi Economic Growth Projection On Oil Cuts

By Alex Kimani - Jul 16, 2024

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has downgraded its growth forecast for the Saudi economy due to ongoing oil production cuts by OPEC+. The IMF now sees 2024 growth clocking in at just 1.7%, nearly a percentage point lower than its earlier projection of 2.6%. The effects of the cuts are expected to spill over into the coming year, with the IMF projecting GDP growth of 4.7% in 2025, a downward revision of 1.3 percentage points from April.

Thankfully, Saudi Arabia is increasingly becoming less reliant on oil to power its economy. Earlier in the year, the country's Ministry of Economy and Planning revealed that non-oil revenues hit 50% of the Kingdom's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023, the highest level ever.

The country's non-oil economy was valued at 1.7 trillion Saudi Riyals (approximately 453 billion U.S. dollars) at constant prices, driven by steady growth in exports, investment and consumer spending. Last year, the Kingdom's private-sector investments expanded by a brisk 57 percent, reaching a record high of 959 billion Saudi Riyals (254 billion dollars), while arts & entertainment and real service exports grew in triple-digits to the tune of 106 percent and 319 percent, respectively, reflecting the Kingdom's transformation into a global destination for tourism and entertainment. Meanwhile, the food sector recorded 77 percent growth; transport and storage services grew 29 percent, health and education recorded growth of 10.8 percent; trade, restaurants and hotels at 7 percent, while transport and communications increased 3.7 percent.

Saudi Crude Oil Exports Slump to 10-Month Low

By Charles Kennedy - Jul 05, 2024

The world’s top crude exporter, Saudi Arabia, shipped the lowest volumes of oil in June for ten months as Saudi domestic consumption grew and Russia continued to take market share from the Kingdom in key Asian export destinations.

Saudi crude oil exports fell to 5.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in June, tanker tracking data compiled by Bloomberg showed on Friday.
This export volume is only 250,000 bpd more than the low Saudi exports at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, according to Bloomberg’s estimates.
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Royal Road’s Saudi JV wins bid for copper-gold exploration licences

Staff Writer | July 3, 2024

Royal Road Minerals (TSXV: RYR) announced on Wednesday that its 50% owned Saudi Arabian joint venture has been selected as the winning bidder, as part of a competitive licensing round, for the Al-Miyah copper and gold tender area.


This tender area consists of three contiguous exploration licences in Saudi Arabia’s Asir province, about 150 km northwest of the company’s Jabal Sahabiyah exploration licences, for which it was awarded the preferred bidder in January.

The licensing round for exploration licences was launched by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources (MIMR) in early 2023. In August, Royal Road established a 50/50 partnership with Saudi Arabian investment holding company MIDU to bid on these exploration rights.

The new Al-Miyah licences cover approximately 234 km2 of historic known copper and gold occurrences, hosted in upper Proterozoic age meta-volcanic and intrusive rocks within the prospective Nabitah-Tathlith belt.

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Plus de 1.000 pèlerins morts lors du grand pèlerinage en Arabie saoudite
AFP •20/06/2024