The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s oil export revenues fell to their lowest level in three years, due to the decline in oil prices and the Kingdom’s decision to reduce production.
Citing government data, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, August 23, that the sales of crude oil and refined products fell to 66.3 billion Saudi Riyals in June, down more than 9 percent year-on-year and about 12 percent from May.
Saudi Arabia reduced production to boost prices, but Brent remains at 76 dollars per barrel, 7 percent lower than last year’s trading.
This drop in oil revenue comes at a vital time for Saudi Arabia, since the country relies on petrodollars and foreign investment to support large-scale construction projects under Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 policy, which seeks to diversify the oil-dependent economy.
One of the projects impacted is The Line, a mirror-clad desert metropolis and NEOM, a 500 billion dollars megacity project.
Saudi officials predict that The Line will have fewer than 300,000 residents by 2030, instead of the previously anticipated 1.5 million. The completion of only 2.4km of the 170km city is expected to occur by 2030.
