Al-Okaz, Saudi Arabia, January 14
An independent audit conducted in Saudi Arabia in recent months revealed that the kingdom’s oil reserves are actually 2 billion barrels larger than what had previously been assumed, making Aramco the world’s largest oil company. For many decades, Saudi Arabia was the world leader in oil exports. The kingdom’s power in the global oil market began to weaken after major oil discoveries had been made around the globe, particularly in the United States. However, the recent audit of the country’s oil fields once again positions Riyadh as a global leader in the energy market, dispelling any concerns or speculations that existed about the actual size of the country’s oil reserves. Interestingly, the Saudi announcement came just several days after Qatar announced its withdrawal from OPEC, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. After quitting the organization, Qatar announced its plan to buy stakes in Mexican offshore oil fields from the Italian energy company Eni. This was supposed to undermine Saudi Arabia’s positioning in the international market, while boosting that of Qatar. But it failed. The Saudi announcement about the discovery of larger reservoirs than had originally been estimated completely shattered the Qatari plan. Riyadh watched as Doha shelled huge sums of money for stakes in remote oil fields that do not even amount to 1% of the fields discovered in Qatar’s own backyard. This was a terrible business decision that will cost the Qatari government a lot of money. Saudi Arabia, the United States and Russia will remain the world’s leaders in the energy industry for decades to come. They are the biggest suppliers of oil and have the largest stocks. Qatar, meanwhile, will remain nothing more than a minuscule and insignificant player trying to circumvent the Saudi embargo by buying stakes in small fields around the world. This will to be a costly endeavor that will make no difference on the ground. –Muhammad al-Saed