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Saudi oil revenue drops to 3-year low, affects mega-projects: Report

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman announces the mirror-clad desert metropolis called The Line to be built in the kingdom’s northwest, on January 10, 2021. (Via Reuters)

Saudi Arabia’s revenue from oil sales has plummeted to the lowest level in three years, prompting the kingdom to scale back or delay some of its ambitious development projects.

Citing government data, Bloomberg reported on Thursday that Saudi Arabia earned just $17.7 billion from the export of crude oil and refined products in June, down over 9 percent year-on-year and about 12 percent from May.

The report said that the slump in Saudi Arabia's oil revenue is caused by falling crude prices and the country’s decision to curb production.

In an earlier report, Bloomberg had pointed to a steady downward trend in the amount of Saudi crude sent to China and India, two of the kingdom’s biggest customers, in the past few years.

The decline in Saudi Arabia’s oil income comes at a time when the country needs petrodollars and foreign investment to complete its large construction schemes envisioned in Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 Strategy, aimed at diversifying the oil-dependent economy.

The mirror-clad desert metropolis called The Line is one of the projects that will be affected. It is part of a wider Neom project, which is the centerpiece of Vision 2030.

Instead of 1.5 million people living in The Line by 2030, Saudi officials now anticipate fewer than 300,000 residents, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The officials further expect to have just 2.4 kilometers of the project completed by 2030, which was planned to ultimately cover a 170-kilometer stretch of desert.


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