Special required research project attachment was the instructor note on my PowerPoint work which needed to be fixed.
Presenter:
Date:
Introduction
Saudi Arabia is considered as the most significance
country to the global oil market.
The country has been leading in the production of oil
since early 1990s.
Recently, the country is ranked as number three in the
production of oil across the globe.
The country has been consistent in producing the oil.
The company was producing around 264 billion barrels
and 267 billion barrels of proved reserves in 2005 and
2014 respectively.
How did Saudi Arabia Use its
Petroleum Standing to Influence other
Nations?
Saudi Arabia uses its petroleum to influence other
countries across the globe.
The country takes advantage of other nations that depend
on it for the supply of oil and gases.
The demand for country’s oil continues to increase
especially from China and India.
The Kingdom has intention of meeting this demand but
also influencing these countries.
In particular, Saudi Arabia influences other countries to
support its political and economical needs for them to get
oil in return.
Is Saudi Arabia’s Petroleum
Industry Nationalized?
Saudi Arabia has not nationalized its oil.
Saudi Aramco owned by KSA 100%.
However, the Saudi Arabian government acquired
approximately 25% stake in Aramco in 1973.
The government later increased the value of its
shareholding from 25% to 60% in 1974.
The government later took full control of Aramco by
acquiring a 100% stake in the company in 1980s.
Nonetheless, deputy crown prince had stated its
intention to list 5% of the company to generate funds
for the country.
Reservoir Rock Types that host
some of Large Oil and Gas Fields
The rock types range from the highest to lowest
reservoir quality (Lindsay, 2006).
In particular, there are six major rock types
❖ Skeletal-oolitic grainstone, mud-lean packstone, and
some mud-richpackstone’
❖ Stromatoporoid-red and green algae-coral rudstone
and float-stone,
❖ Cladocoropsisrudstone and floatstone,
❖ Dolomite, porous and locally extremely permeable
to nonporous,
❖ Bivalve-coated grain-intraclast rudstoneand
floatstone, and
Changes in the Production of Oil
over Time
The production oil in Saudi Arabia has changed
drastically over time.
The changes in the production patterns of oil are
associated with shift in the demand of the country’s
oil in the market.
In particular, the country reduced the volume of oil
produced due to decline in oil prices in the market
(Goldthau, 2015).
The price of oil reduced due to increase in the number
of countries producing and supplying oil across the
world.
Is Saudi Arabia Diversifying its
Energy Profile?
Saudi Arabia has diversified its energy profile as a way of
increasing its level of income.
However, natural gas remains the major source of income
for the country.
Gas exported from the country is providing the greatest
financial support to Saudi Vision 2030.
Additionally, the country incurs the minimum cost in
pumping crude oil and gas.
However, the country needs to lower the amount of energy
used to run oil refinery plants in the country thus
increasing its level of income.
The use of Unconventional Drilling
in major Shale Oil and Gas Plays
Unconventional drilling was embraced in the
production of gas and oil in the country in 2018.
The need to use this method of production was stated
in 2013 by then Saudi Arabian Oil Minister.
The method would be helpful in the production of oil
since the country had over 600 tcf of unconventional
gas (Sertin, 2019).
Consequently, in May 2018, Saudi Aramco started
commercial production of unconventional gas from
North Arabia field.
The country supplied about 55 mcf per day of gas to a
power plant that was based in Wa’ad Al Shamal.
Alternative Energy Production
Although Saudi Arabia is among the major energy
producers across the globe, the county is not likely to
be a major player in alternative energy production.
The energy in the form of oil and gas that the country
supplies to other nations comes from various rock
types.
Therefore, the country is likely to lack the source of
the alternative energy, which will make difficult for it
to become a major player in alternative energy
production.
Adapting to a World that rely less
on Gas and Oil
Saudi Arabia is among the major petrochemical-based
economies across the globe wherein most economic activities
are regulated by the government.
However, the country will adapt to a world that rely less on gas
and oil by venturing in other sectors of the economy rather than
agriculture.
The country can mainly adopt to these changes by venturing
into tourism, which mainly involves religious pilgrimages.
Tourism will be a major source on income for the country since
people from other parts of the world will visit the religious
pilgrimages.
The Role of Saudi Arabia in OPEC
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) is an intergovernmental organization.
The organization initially had 14 member states but the
number latter increased to 44.
OPEC has major influence global oil prices.
Being among the major producers and suppliers of oil
across the globe, Saudi Arabia has a drastic impact on the
operations of OPEC.
In particular, the amount of oil produced by the country
determines the price of oil in the market.
References
Goldthau, A. (2015). Saudi Arabia and the Shifting
Geoeconomics of Oil. Retrieved from
https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/saudi-arabia-andshifting-geoeconomics-oil
Lindsay, R, F. et al. (2006). Ghawar Arab-D
Reservoir:Widespread Porosity inShoaling-upward
CarbonateCycles, Saudi Arabia. Retrieved from
https://www.academia.edu/7753001/Ghawar_ArabD_Reservoir_Widespread_Porosity_in_Shoalingupward_Carbonate_Cycles_Saudi_Arabia
Sertin, C. (2019). Halliburton MENA SVP: Bringing the
shale revolution to the Middle East.
Presentation Summary
Saudi Arabia is among the major producers and suppliers of oil across the globe. Some
oil producers tend to nationalize their petroleum. The nationalization of oil supplies refers to the
process preventing oil from being regulated by private owned companies thus enabling oilproducing countries’ governments to generate more revenue. Saudi Arabia has not nationalized
its oil but rather its fully owned by KSA. However, the Saudi Arabian government acquired
approximately 25% stake in Aramco in 1973. The government later increased the value of its
shareholding from 25% to 60% in 1974. The government later took full control of Aramco by
acquiring a 100% stake in the company in 1980s. Nonetheless, deputy crown prince had stated
its intention to list 5% of the company to generate funds for the country. Additionally,
nationalization of oil in the country is drastically affected by the high level of corruption. Saudi
Aramco belongs to KSA and cannot be easily nationalized despite being owned by Saudi’s. The
reservoir rock that host large amount of oil and gas in the country exist in six types. They range
from the highest to lowest reservoir quality.
The production oil in Saudi Arabia has changed drastically over time. The changes in the
production patterns of oil are associated with shift in the demand of the country’s oil and changes
of oil prices in the market. In particular, the country reduced the volume of oil produced due to
decline in the demand of its oil. The demand declined following decrease in oil prices in the
market. The price of oil reduced due to increase in the number of countries producing and
supplying oil across the world. For instance, oil was produced from deep rock formations in the
United States.
The country has adopted Unconventional drilling. This method of producing oil was
embraced in the country in 2018. The need to use this method of production was stated in 2013
by then Saudi Arabian Oil Minister. Ali al-Naimi predicted that this method would be helpful in
the production of oil since the country had over 600 tcf of unconventional gas. Consequently, in
May 2018, Saudi Aramco started commercial production of unconventional gas from North
Arabia field. The country supplied about 55 mcf per day of gas to a power plant that was based
in Wa’ad Al Shamal, which was a mining and industrial project that was located in northern
Saudi Arabia. In November 2018, the company declared that the use of cutting edge technology
for unconventional resources would enable it to reduce the operation costs by around 70%.
Saudi Arabia has diversified its energy profile as a way of increasing its level of income.
Depending on one type of energy is not likely to generate much income for the country.
However, natural gas remains the major source of income for the country.
Gas exported from the country is providing the greatest financial support to Saudi Vision.
Additionally, the country incurs the minimum cost in pumping crude oil and gas. However, the
country needs to lower the amount of energy used to run oil refinery plants in the country thus
increasing its level of income. Although Saudi Arabia is among the major energy producers
across the globe, the county is not likely to be a major player in alternative energy production.
The energy in the form of oil and gas that the country supplies to other nations comes from
various rock types. Therefore, the country is likely to lack the source of the alternative energy,
which will make difficult for it to become a major player in alternative energy production. A
country is able to produce and supply a particular type of energy if it has its natural source.
Saudi Arabia is among the major petrochemical-based economies across the globe
wherein most economic activities are regulated by the government. However, the country will
adapt to a world that rely less on gas and oil by venturing in other sectors of the economy rather
than agriculture. The country can venture on tourism, which mainly involves religious
pilgrimages. The tourism and leisure sectors in the country have grown dramatically in the 21st
century. Saudi Arabia Government announced in December 2013 to start giving tourists visas for
the first time in the history of the nation.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is an intergovernmental
organization. The organization initially had 14 member states but the number latter increased to
44. OPEC has major influence global oil prices across the globe. The price is mainly set
depending on the amount of oil supplied and the level of demand. Being among the major
producers and suppliers of oil across the globe, Saudi Arabia has a drastic impact on the
operations of OPEC. In particular, the amount of oil produced by the country determines the
price of oil in the market.
Special required research project
Title: Saudi Arabia energy: past, present, and future
My main criticism in your draft presentation is that you don’t have to restrict each
research question I proposed to one slide. Let the content govern how many slides
within reason. Include graphs or diagrams to support some of your responses.
And feel free to go beyond my suggested research questions since project topic is
your home country and you have better insight into issues around the research
topic. My comments on your slides are embedded below.
Description: For many years Saudi Arabia has been the world’s largest producer
and exporter of petroleum (both crude oil and natural gas). This project examines
the growth and dominance of Saudi Arabia in the petroleum industry, including its
role in OPEC. Here are some questions to research:
Slide 2: I don’t think your last bulleted stat is correct, re-check, remember u.s.
currently highest producer of oil
1) How has Saudi Arabia used its petroleum standing to influence other nations?
Slide 3: can you include as example??
2) Is the petroleum industry nationalized?
Slide 4: what is KSA? Aramco? I don’t understand your last bulleted item, clarify
3) What are the reservoir rock types that host some of the large oil and gas fields?
Slide 5: good detail on reservoir rock types, do you have a general idea what these
mean? What criteria is used to define high vs low reservoir quality? Is it possible
to find out relation between rock type and percentage of hydrocarbon fuel?
4) How has production changed over time and why?
Slide 6: best to show graph of this and what has driven the “ups and downs”. Also,
when did bullet item 3 occur?
5) Are there major shale oil and gas plays that use unconventional drilling?
Slide 8: you need to use additional slide to accommodate bulleted items. What is
the name of some of the large unconventional plays and how do they compare is
size (reserves or production) to U.S. such as Marcellus and Bakken? What
percentage of current Saudi Arabia production is from unconventional plays? What
are the most concerning unconventional play environmental risks in Saudi Arabia?
6) Is Saudi Arabia diversifying its energy profile? In what ways?
Slide 7: Need to include highlights of Saudi Vision 2030, what are the main goals?
Diversifying energy profile means using energy sources other than fossil fuels or
oil and gas. Is Saudi Arabia pursuing renewable energy sources in meaningful way
such as solar and wind??
Fully explain why alternative energy in Saudi Arabia is insignificant without a
promising future??
7) Can Saudi Arabia be a major player in alternative energy production?
Slide 9: this slide should follow slide 7. Bulleted item #2 in slide 9 is out of place
and doesn’t belong on this slide. You have no justification for bulleted item #3.
8) How will Saudi Arabia adapt to a world that will rely less on its oil and gas?
Slide 10: really? Just tourism to replace fossil fuel revenue stream? What about in
areas of technology? What about desalination of seawater to make freshwater?
Surely there are other initiatives than tourism.
Slide 11: I like that you included this, very important. Perhaps this is best to
follow your slide 3. Since this is your home country you can be more specific and
less general about the info you present.
Results of your research will be presented orally and you are required to submit a
slide presentation file that includes a bibliography.
Slide 12: Okay. Do you have copy of Sertin’s 2019 paper? Please send me a copy.
Design your presentation for 50 minutes with time afterwards to respond to
questions.
Due dates:
First draft: Monday, April 22nd by 4pm
Final draft: Wednesday, May 1st by 4pm.
Presentation: Monday May 6th at a mutually convenient time (another date/time
can be arranged if this day is inconvenient for you).
I look forward to learning more about your home country as one of the major
energy producers in the world.