Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has told the country’s Oil minister, Ali Al-Naimi, that the kingdom will not be able to raise production capacity to 15 million barrels of crude oil per day, and that he disagrees with the minister’s view over the impact of shale gas.Â
“The world’s reliance on OPEC oil, especially the production of Saudi Arabia, is in a clear and continuous drop,” wrote the Prince in a letter addressed to Al-Naimi, that was published on Twitter. With the growing role of shale oil and gas in both North America and Austrlia’s energy mixes, demand for OPEC oil may be on the decline.Â
Over 30% of OPEC production comes from Saudi Arabia, and over 90% of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s government budget depends on revenue from the country’s oil industry.
The Prince urged that plans to diversify the economy are put in place. “Revenue diversification is a must, and that necessitates a clear vision that should be implemented immediately,” he said. He also stated that plans to diversify the country’s energy mix will to include nuclear and renewable energy in order to reduce local consumption of oil are necessary.Â
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