While Saudi Arabia's oil industry, with its staggering 10.45 million barrels of daily production and $161 billion annual profits, still anchors its economy, the kingdom's industrial ambitions now reach far beyond the wellhead, as revealed by a powerful expansion into gas, petrochemicals, mining, and giga-project construction.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, Saudi Aramco's crude oil production averaged 10.45 million barrels per day, accounting for about 12% of global supply
- Saudi Arabia's natural gas production reached 4.1 billion cubic meters per day in 2023, with 70% associated gas from oil fields
- The kingdom's proven oil reserves stood at 259 billion barrels at the end of 2022, representing 17% of world total
- SABIC's ethylene production capacity is 7.5 million tons per year as of 2023
- Yanbu National Petrochemical Co (Yansab) produces 4 million tons of ethylene glycol annually
- Saudi Arabia's petrochemical exports reached $28 billion in 2022
- Maaden Gold's Al Duwayhi mine produced 198,000 oz gold in 2022
- Saudi Arabia's phosphate rock production 11 million tons in 2023
- Maaden Aluminium's Ras Al Khair smelter capacity 1.8 million tons/year
- Saudi Arabia's manufacturing sector contributed 11.4% to GDP in 2022
- Cement production totaled 38 million tons in 2023
- Food and beverage manufacturing output value $25 billion in 2022
- Saudi construction sector value added $42 billion in 2022, 8% of GDP
- NEOM megacity construction contracts awarded $100 billion by 2023
- Riyadh Metro project 176 km track with 85 stations under construction
Saudi Arabia is a global energy leader with major investments in petrochemicals and mining.
Construction and Infrastructure
- Saudi construction sector value added $42 billion in 2022, 8% of GDP
- NEOM megacity construction contracts awarded $100 billion by 2023
- Riyadh Metro project 176 km track with 85 stations under construction
- Qiddiya entertainment city soil works cover 334 sq km site
- Red Sea Project 50 hotels with 8,000 rooms by 2030 construction phase
- King Salman Airport in Riyadh 85 million passengers capacity planned
- Haramain High-Speed Railway carried 2 million passengers in 2023
- Diriyah Gate development 40 sq km UNESCO site construction
- Saudi construction workforce 2.1 million including 1.8 million expatriates
- Road network expansion added 5,000 km highways in 2022-2023
- Desalination plants construction 2.5 million m3/day capacity added
- Amaala luxury tourism project 3,000 rooms marine infrastructure
- Jeddah Central Project redevelopment 5.7 million sqm mixed-use
- Sports Boulevard linear park 135 km construction started 2023
- AlUla infrastructure masterplan 28,000 hotel keys by 2025
- Dammam Third Industrial City 50 million sqm developed area
- Housing projects under Sakani program 1.5 million units contracted
- GCC Power Grid interconnection 3,000 MW capacity construction
- Sudair Solar PV plant 1,500 MW under construction
- Riyadh Exhibition Center 1.4 million sqm floor space completed 2023
- Kingdom Centre Tower maintenance and retrofitting cost $500 million
- Abha International Airport expansion to 4 million passengers/year
- Vision 2030 giga-projects total investment $1.1 trillion
Construction and Infrastructure Interpretation
Saudi Arabia is using its legendary ambition not just to build a skyline but to pour $1.1 trillion worth of concrete foundations for a future that literally runs on desalinated water, high-speed rails, and solar power, all while tactfully acknowledging its reliance on a 1.8 million-strong expat construction workforce to make the vision a reality.
Manufacturing and Industrial Production
- Saudi Arabia's manufacturing sector contributed 11.4% to GDP in 2022
- Cement production totaled 38 million tons in 2023
- Food and beverage manufacturing output value $25 billion in 2022
- Plastics products manufacturing grew 12% YoY in 2023
- Saudi steel production capacity 12 million tons per year across 5 plants
- Automotive assembly in Saudi produced 450,000 vehicles in 2023
- Pharmaceutical manufacturing local content reached 40% in 2023
- Non-metallic minerals production index up 5.6% in 2023
- Electrical equipment manufacturing exports $1.2 billion in 2022
- Textile and apparel output 1.5 billion sqm fabric equivalent
- Furniture manufacturing sector employs 50,000 with $3 billion turnover
- Paper and cardboard production 1.8 million tons in 2023
- Metal fabrication added value $8.5 billion in 2022
- Industrial cities host 7,000 factories with 1.5 million employees
- Rubber products manufacturing capacity 300,000 tons/year
- Saudi building materials production supports 60% local content
- Machinery manufacturing output grew 18% to $4 billion in 2023
- Glass manufacturing 2.5 million tons float glass/year
- Dairy processing capacity 5 billion liters milk equivalent annually
- Ready-mix concrete production 50 million cubic meters in 2023
Manufacturing and Industrial Production Interpretation
Saudi Arabia’s industrial transformation is quietly forging a kingdom of concrete, steel, and plastics, proving that modernization is not merely a drill but a refinery for building an entire economic ecosystem from the ground up.
Mining and Metals
- Maaden Gold's Al Duwayhi mine produced 198,000 oz gold in 2022
- Saudi Arabia's phosphate rock production 11 million tons in 2023
- Maaden Aluminium's Ras Al Khair smelter capacity 1.8 million tons/year
- Bauxite mining output from Maaden 5.5 million tons in 2022
- Gold production totaled 450,000 ounces in 2023 across Maaden operations
- Maaden's Mansourah-Massarah mine ramped to 250,000 oz/year
- Saudi iron ore reserves estimated at 650 million tons
- Copper production by Maaden 28,000 tons in 2023
- Kingdom's kaolin production 1.2 million tons annually
- Maaden's alumina refinery capacity 2.4 million tons/year at Ras Al Khair
- Zinc output from Maaden 65,000 tons in 2022
- Saudi rare earth elements exploration identified 50 million tons deposit
- Gypsum production 15 million tons in 2023
- Maaden Gold's Ad Duwayhi underground reserves 4.1 million oz
- Saudi Arabia aims for 300,000 tons aluminum production by 2028
- Salt production 6 million tons annually from Red Sea
- Maaden's phosphate fertilizers capacity 6 million tons/year
- Lithium exploration in Saudi clay deposits potential 1 million tons LCE
- Feldspar output 500,000 tons in 2022
- Saudi steel production 9.5 million tons in 2023 via direct reduction
- Maaden's EVA plant produces 350,000 tons ethylene vinyl acetate/year
- Limestone quarrying 45 million tons for cement industry
- Hadeed steel capacity 5.6 million tons liquid steel/year
- Saudi rare earths processing plant planned 40,000 tons/year concentrates
- Maaden's gold doré production 375,000 oz in 2023 H1
- Saudi Vision 2030 mining investment target $32 billion by 2030
- United Mining Industries marble production 2 million sqm slabs/year
Mining and Metals Interpretation
Saudi Arabia is not merely riding the golden camel of oil anymore, but is vigorously mining, smelting, and refining its way toward a diversified industrial future, from glittering gold to the bedrock of phosphate and the strategic promise of rare earths.
Oil and Gas
- In 2022, Saudi Aramco's crude oil production averaged 10.45 million barrels per day, accounting for about 12% of global supply
- Saudi Arabia's natural gas production reached 4.1 billion cubic meters per day in 2023, with 70% associated gas from oil fields
- The kingdom's proven oil reserves stood at 259 billion barrels at the end of 2022, representing 17% of world total
- Aramco's refining capacity hit 4.2 million barrels per day in 2023 after Jazan refinery ramp-up
- Saudi upstream capital expenditure by Aramco was $28 billion in 2022, focused on gas expansion
- Ghawar field, world's largest, produced over 3.8 million bpd in 2022
- Saudi gas pipeline network spans 8,500 km, transporting 118 billion cubic meters annually
- Liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports by Saudi Arabia totaled 5.2 million tons in 2022
- Aramco's Master Gas System processes 104 billion scfd of gas
- Oil exports from Saudi Arabia reached 7.1 million bpd in 2022, primarily to Asia
- Safaniya offshore field produces 1.2 million bpd, largest offshore field globally
- Saudi Aramco's net income was $161 billion in 2022, highest ever for a publicly listed company
- The kingdom's oil rig count averaged 45 active rigs in 2023
- Abqaiq processing facility handles 7 million bpd of Arab Light crude
- Saudi Arabia's strategic petroleum reserve capacity is 100 million barrels underground
- Aramco plans to increase gas production by 60% to 9.0 bscfd by 2027
- Berri field incremental production reached 250,000 bpd in 2023 post-expansion
- Saudi oil derivatives exports were $45 billion in 2022
- Marjan field output boosted to 600,000 bpd after 2018 attack recovery
- Kingdom's flaring volume reduced to 0.35% of production in 2022
- Aramco's Ras Tanura refinery processes 550,000 bpd
- Saudi Arabia contributed 11.3% to global oil supply in 2023
- Shaybah field's gas plant produces 2.3 bscfd
- Oil well count in Saudi Arabia exceeds 10,000, with 80% smart wells
- Aramco's downstream revenue grew 23% to $112 billion in 2022
- Zuluf field's water injection supports 700,000 bpd production
- Saudi gas utilization rate reached 98% in 2023
- Hawtah N proven reserves added 500 million barrels in 2022 exploration
- Aramco's crude distillation capacity expansion to 5 million bpd by 2025 planned
- Kingdom's oil seismic data covers 5 million sq km
- Saudi Aramco's crude oil refining capacity reached 3.3 million bpd in 2023
Oil and Gas Interpretation
Saudi Arabia, playing the role of the planet's indispensable but pragmatic gas station, has so meticulously engineered its oil and gas empire that it can fill a car, power a city, fund a kingdom, and still have enough fuel left to remind everyone who holds the master key to the global economy.
Petrochemicals and Chemicals
- SABIC's ethylene production capacity is 7.5 million tons per year as of 2023
- Yanbu National Petrochemical Co (Yansab) produces 4 million tons of ethylene glycol annually
- Saudi Arabia's petrochemical exports reached $28 billion in 2022
- Jubail United Petrochemical (JUP) capacity for benzene is 1.1 million tpa
- National Industrialization Co (Tasnee) chlor-alkali production at 1.2 million tons/year
- SABIC's plastics production hit 20 million tons in 2023
- Sadara Chemical's polycarbonate capacity is 420,000 tpa
- Saudi Kayan Petrochemical's MTBE plant produces 1 million tons/year
- Petrochemical industry employs 200,000 workers in Saudi Arabia in 2023
- United Petrochemical (UPC) styrene capacity 900,000 tpa
- SABIC Agri-Nutrients urea production 6.3 million tons/year
- Eastern Petrochemical Co (SHARQ) ethylene 1.1 million tpa
- Saudi Arabia's methanol production capacity 5.2 million tons in 2022
- TASNEE's EVA resins production 250,000 tpa
- Petro Rabigh complex produces 2.4 million tons polyolefins/year
- Kingdom's chemical exports grew 15% to $15 billion in 2023
- SABIC's base oils plant in Yanbu produces 240,000 tpa
- Sipchem's acetic acid capacity 1.25 million tons/year
- Saudi petrochemical FDI inflows $3.2 billion in 2022
- NATPET's HDPE capacity 1.5 million tons/year Phase II
- Gulf Petrochemicals (GPIC) ammonia 2,300 tpd
- SABIC's carbon fiber composites production started at 1,000 tons pilot in 2023
- Chevron Phillips-led JV benzene plant 1 million tpa planned for Jubail
- Saudi Arabia's polymers production 18 million tons in 2023
- Advanced Petrochemical Co propylene capacity 435,000 tpa
- Petrochemical clusters in Jubail and Yanbu host 100+ plants
- Saudi industrial production index for chemicals rose 8.2% in 2023
Petrochemicals and Chemicals Interpretation
Saudi Arabia has so meticulously transformed crude oil into a staggering array of essential molecules—from plastics to fertilizers to specialized chemicals—that its industrial might now exports not just products, but the very building blocks of modern civilization.
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