Saudi Arabia energy profile
Saudi Arabia — OPEC's swing producer and the world's oil pivot
267 Gbbls
Proven oil reserves — 17% of world total
$161 B
Saudi Aramco net profit 2022 — world's most profitable
Ghawar
World's largest oil field — 25.12°N 49.35°E
50%
Renewable electricity target by 2030 (Vision 2030)
Oil infrastructure
Saudi Arabia's oil system — GPS-located key facilities
Critical infrastructure GPS:
Ghawar oil field (25.12°N 49.35°E) — world's largest, 48.2 Gbbls proven, ~3.8M bbl/day. Full documentation at Ghawar dedicated page.
Abqaiq processing facility (26.03°N 49.68°E) — world's most critical piece of oil infrastructure. Processes approximately 7% of global oil supply — stabilises Arabian crude (removes H₂S and light ends) before export. Attacked by Houthi drones and missiles on 14 September 2019 — knocked out 5.7 million bbl/day temporarily. Saudi Aramco restored output within 2 weeks through extraordinary effort. The attack revealed the extreme vulnerability of a single facility.
Ras Tanura (26.65°N 50.16°E) — Saudi Aramco's main refinery and export terminal. World's largest crude loading terminal. Tanker berths for VLCCs.
Ghawar oil field (25.12°N 49.35°E) — world's largest, 48.2 Gbbls proven, ~3.8M bbl/day. Full documentation at Ghawar dedicated page.
Abqaiq processing facility (26.03°N 49.68°E) — world's most critical piece of oil infrastructure. Processes approximately 7% of global oil supply — stabilises Arabian crude (removes H₂S and light ends) before export. Attacked by Houthi drones and missiles on 14 September 2019 — knocked out 5.7 million bbl/day temporarily. Saudi Aramco restored output within 2 weeks through extraordinary effort. The attack revealed the extreme vulnerability of a single facility.
Ras Tanura (26.65°N 50.16°E) — Saudi Aramco's main refinery and export terminal. World's largest crude loading terminal. Tanker berths for VLCCs.
Hormuz bypass infrastructure:
East-West Crude Oil Pipeline (Petroline) — 1,200 km from Abqaiq (26.03°N 49.68°E) to Yanbu (24.09°N 38.07°E) on the Red Sea. Capacity: 5 million bbl/day. Provides partial bypass of Hormuz — the only viable one. But covers only ~25% of Hormuz throughput.
Yanbu Industrial City (24.09°N 38.07°E) — Red Sea end of the pipeline. Saudi Aramco Yanbu refinery (9 MT/yr), SABIC petrochemical plants, export terminal for crude to Europe and USA bypassing Hormuz.
OPEC HQ: Vienna, Austria (48.19°N 16.37°E) — where Saudi Arabia's oil ministers negotiate production quotas that determine the global oil price. Saudi Arabia is the only OPEC member with meaningful surplus capacity (~2–3M bbl/day spare) — giving it unique swing producer power.
East-West Crude Oil Pipeline (Petroline) — 1,200 km from Abqaiq (26.03°N 49.68°E) to Yanbu (24.09°N 38.07°E) on the Red Sea. Capacity: 5 million bbl/day. Provides partial bypass of Hormuz — the only viable one. But covers only ~25% of Hormuz throughput.
Yanbu Industrial City (24.09°N 38.07°E) — Red Sea end of the pipeline. Saudi Aramco Yanbu refinery (9 MT/yr), SABIC petrochemical plants, export terminal for crude to Europe and USA bypassing Hormuz.
OPEC HQ: Vienna, Austria (48.19°N 16.37°E) — where Saudi Arabia's oil ministers negotiate production quotas that determine the global oil price. Saudi Arabia is the only OPEC member with meaningful surplus capacity (~2–3M bbl/day spare) — giving it unique swing producer power.
Vision 2030
Vision 2030 — Saudi Arabia's post-oil diversification
Energy diversification targets:
Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 (Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's economic reform programme, 2016) includes a target of 50% renewable electricity by 2030 — up from essentially 0% today. Key projects: Noor Energy 1 (24.43°N 55.43°E, Abu Dhabi, Saudi-UAE collaboration, 950 MW CSP+100 MW PV), the Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park (Dubai, Saudi-linked), and domestic Saudi projects in Neom. Saudi Aramco's own long-term planning acknowledges peak oil demand — it is investing in downstream and chemicals to capture more value per barrel even as volumes may eventually decline. SABIC (70% Saudi Aramco since 2020) provides the petrochemicals diversification strategy. Source: Saudi Vision 2030 · Saudi Aramco AR 2023.
Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 (Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's economic reform programme, 2016) includes a target of 50% renewable electricity by 2030 — up from essentially 0% today. Key projects: Noor Energy 1 (24.43°N 55.43°E, Abu Dhabi, Saudi-UAE collaboration, 950 MW CSP+100 MW PV), the Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park (Dubai, Saudi-linked), and domestic Saudi projects in Neom. Saudi Aramco's own long-term planning acknowledges peak oil demand — it is investing in downstream and chemicals to capture more value per barrel even as volumes may eventually decline. SABIC (70% Saudi Aramco since 2020) provides the petrochemicals diversification strategy. Source: Saudi Vision 2030 · Saudi Aramco AR 2023.
NEOM — the $500 billion bet:
NEOM (28.00°N 35.50°E, Tabuk province, northwest Saudi Arabia, Red Sea coast) is Saudi Arabia's most ambitious Vision 2030 project — a planned futuristic city and industrial region across 26,500 km². Components: The LINE (a 170-km long, 200-metre-wide linear city), Oxagon (floating industrial complex), and Trojena (mountain resort). Energy plan: 4,000 MW of solar and wind for green hydrogen production — exporting green ammonia to European and Asian markets. Capital committed: approximately $500 billion. Critics note the scale is unprecedented and the timeline (functional city by 2030) appears unrealistic given construction progress as of 2024. NEOM represents Saudi Arabia's attempt to use its renewable energy potential (exceptional solar irradiance in Tabuk) and financial resources to build a post-oil economic pillar. Source: NEOM official communications · Bloomberg NEOM coverage 2024.
NEOM (28.00°N 35.50°E, Tabuk province, northwest Saudi Arabia, Red Sea coast) is Saudi Arabia's most ambitious Vision 2030 project — a planned futuristic city and industrial region across 26,500 km². Components: The LINE (a 170-km long, 200-metre-wide linear city), Oxagon (floating industrial complex), and Trojena (mountain resort). Energy plan: 4,000 MW of solar and wind for green hydrogen production — exporting green ammonia to European and Asian markets. Capital committed: approximately $500 billion. Critics note the scale is unprecedented and the timeline (functional city by 2030) appears unrealistic given construction progress as of 2024. NEOM represents Saudi Arabia's attempt to use its renewable energy potential (exceptional solar irradiance in Tabuk) and financial resources to build a post-oil economic pillar. Source: NEOM official communications · Bloomberg NEOM coverage 2024.
Provenance
Attribution and citation
- Sources
- Saudi Aramco Annual Report 2023 · IEA Saudi Arabia 2024 · OPEC Annual Statistical Bulletin 2024 · SABIC AR 2023 · Saudi Vision 2030
- Cite as
- "Saudi Arabia Energy Profile — Complete Reference", The Energy Codex, https://thecodex.expert/energy/countries/saudi-arabia/, last updated .