ABSTRACT
The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has become important by virtue of its great oil exports and the wealth these exports have generated. It has by far the largest reserves of crude oil in the world and natural gas is also abundant. Yet these resources are finite – the output of oil will probably start to decline towards the middle of the next century. 1 While the country can at present meet its needs through the export of crude oil and natural gas, therefore, a long-term development strategy in this sphere rests on creating a petrochemical industry based on the natural gas (which is now largely flared) and the oil resources. Some portion of the resources would need to be set aside for this purpose in the long term. Natural Gas Utilisation https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781315727455/3c9ea054-123b-48ff-95a1-7690324d530e/content/fig13_1_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> Source: Saudi Basic Industries Corporation. Proved Oil and Gas Reserves and Production in the Arab Gulf States https://www.niso.org/standards/z39-96/ns/oasis-exchange/table">
Country
Proved reserves
Oil production in 1980 (1,000 b/d)
Oil (1,000 bbl)
Gas (109 ft3)
Gulf Cooperation Council
Saudi Arabia
167,460,000
116,000
9,900
Kuwait
64,900,000
30,800
1,382
UAE
Abu Dhabi
29,000,000
20,000
1,350
Dubai
1,400,000
775
349
Sharjah
10,000
–
10
Qatar
3,585,000
60,000
472
Oman
2,340,000
2,500
280
Bahrain
225,000
9,000
49
Neutral Zone
6,060,000
4,800
540
Iraq
30,000,000
27,000
2,638
Total
304,980,000
270,875
16,970
World
648,500,000
2,600,000
59,700
Note: The reserves are those proved using current technology and prices.
Source: Oil and Gas Journal (29 December 1980), p. 78; ibid (9 March 1981), p. 44; Ministry of Petroleum and Minerals (15 March 1981).