Oil and Gas Production in Saudi Arabia: Comparison with the US Petroleum Sector

The article discusses the current status and development prospects of the Saudi Arabian petroleum sector that is based on Saudi Aramco national oil company. Authors analyze resource potential and upstream policy of the kingdom. They study such competitive advantages of the Saudi oil and gas sector as low lifting costs and minimal carbon intensity, as well as Saudi Aramco’s strategic focus on maximization of the long-term value of hydrocarbon reserves. The article emphasizes that the following success factors enable the Saudi petroleum sector to maintain for many decades its leadership in the global oil and gas production: strategic vision of the kingdom’s rulers, constructive relations with international oil and service companies, wise fiscal policy, reasonable “Saudization” practices, partial privatization of Saudi Aramco, implementation of Saudi Vision-2030, efficient extraction of non-conventional hydrocarbon reserves, development and application of the state-of-the-art information technologies, and maximization of the human potential. A special focus is made on the comparative analysis of Saudi Arabia’s and the US energy policies, and their radical differences are identified. A conclusion is made that diverging models of Saudi and US petroleum sector’s development are equally viable given their specific political, economic and social environments.