Saudi Arabia Earned $645,000 a Minute, $38.7 Million an Hour for Record Crude Export Earnings in 2012

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, earned more than $339 billion in 2012. This figure represents the highest crude export earnings since the country began oil production more than 80 years ago.

The country averaged daily earnings of $931 million, representing an average of $38.7 million an hour, or about $645,000 per minute. But in 2013, the average daily earnings are expected to fall to about $765 million due to a projected decline in crude prices and Saudi Arabia's oil production.

Jadwa Investments (Riyadh) reported that the 2012 income was nearly 7.3% above the 2011 oil revenue of about $316.6 billion and almost double the 2009 income of $171 billion.

The sharp rise in crude prices caused the 2012 surge, in which prices reached their highest annual average of $106.1 per barrel of Saudi crude. Production also reached a record high of nearly 9.8 million barrels per day. In 2013, production is forecast to average 9.6 million barrel per day.

In 2014, prices are forecast to fall to $96.2 a barrel and output will be down to 9.4 million barrels a day, with an annual income of $263.4 billion, according to Jadwa.

The high income in 2013 would significantly increase Saudi Arabia's fiscal surplus to about $47.2 billion, which is more than 17 times the budgeted balance.

At a time when the country has embarked on a massive spending program on infrastructure and social development as it lowers dependency on hydrocarbons, diversifies and develops its industrial base and meets the demands of a fast-growing young population, foreign assets have more than doubled over the past six years.

These are projected to increase from $656.9 billion at the end of 2012 to $698.9 billion at the end of 2013. In 2014, foreign assets are expected to rise more than $700 billion for the first time to reach $734 billion.

For related information, see February 27, 2013, article - Saudi Arabia Plans $109 Billion Investment in Renewables by 2032, and April 11, 2013, article - Saudi Arabia Implements 3,088 Projects in Riyadh Province with $74 Billion in Investments.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.