Saudi Arabia warns domestic oil use growing at 'frightening level'
Dubai (Platts)--26Nov2012/650 am EST/1150 GMT
Saudi Arabian oil minister Ali Naimi Sunday called for the
rationalization of the kingdom's domestic energy use as a senior energy
official warned that oil consumption was growing at 'a frightening
level."
"The kingdom uses around 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent to
produce $1,000 of domestic income, compared with an average 1.3 million
to produce the same unit of GDP," the official Saudi Press Agency quoted
Naimi as telling an electricity and water conference in Riyadh.
"At this rate, energy consumption will double by 2030 which requires a
highly efficient rationalization program with the participation of the
public and private sectors and all citizens in order to reduce
consumption," he added.
Naimi said the kingdom, the world's biggest oil exporting nation, faced
"a clear challenge in achieving optimal energy use," adding that
reversing the trend was not "impossible." Curbing domestic energy could
be translated into economic success while freeing up volumes of crude
oil, which is the most important resource for the kingdom, he added.
Hashem Yamani, president of the King Abdullah City of Atomic and
Renewable Energy, told the same conference that the growth in
consumption of oil and oil equivalent was unsustainable.
Among the main challenges facing the OPEC kingpin "was the growth at
frightening levels of the use of oil and oil equivalent," Yamani said,
adding that "change is inevitable" and should be introduced gradually.
He called for the establishment of a working plan for the sustainable
use of crude oil.
Naimi said a balanced energy mix that would make use of both
conventional and unconventional fuels was needed in order to cope with
the anticipated growth in demand.
"It is important for the kingdom to achieve a balanced mix of energy
sources, whether conventional or renewable, in a way that will reduce
the use of fossil fuels and guarantee the availability of more natural
resources for future generations," SPA quoted Naimi as saying.
The Saudi minister has said repeatedly that unless domestic consumption
of energy is curbed, the kingdom's oil exports would fall.
Riyadh has announced plans to generate 50% of its electricity from
nuclear, solar and other renewable energy sources by 2032.
Saudi Arabia is producing just under 10 million b/d. It has total
capacity of 12.5 million b/d and is focusing on expanding its natural
gas output. Gas demand has also risen as a result of a rapidly expanding
petrochemicals sector.
The International Energy Agency said in July 2011 that Saudi Arabia's
direct burning of crude oil for power generation has been rising rapidly
in recent years and was set to reach a record average level of 582,000
b/d in 2011.
Crude burning in Saudi Arabia peaks during the summer months, when
demand for electricity is at its highest as air conditioning use rises.
Until 2008, Saudi Arabia's direct crude burn was less than 200,000 b/d,
but it has risen rapidly since. It doubled in 2009 when the global
recession dented demand for Saudi Arabia's crude exports and then rose
by a further 21% in 2010 and 10% in 2011.
Although more often thought of as a major crude producer and exporter,
Saudi Arabia, where energy prices are heavily subsidized, is a
significant and fast-growing user of oil, and is already among the
world's top 10 consuming nations.
Saudi Aramco CEO Khalid al-Faleh said in December last year that an
average 500,000 b/d of crude oil was being burned for power generation
on average. He said total energy consumption in barrels of oil
equivalent was in the range of 4 million boe/d, about 50% of which was
gas based. Consumption is set to double to 8.2 million boe/d by 2030 if
it is not curbed, he said at the time.
--Kate Dourian,
kate_dourian@platts.com
--Edited by Martin O'Rourke,
martin_orourke@platts.com
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