International

Saudi Arabia to take on billions in debt to survive the oil price crisis

Published on : 2020-04-27

Saudi Arabia may have to borrow as much as $58 billion this year to cover a budget shortfall caused by the oil price slump, Bloomberg reports, citing Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan.


Al-Jadaan told media this week that the Kingdom might issue bonds worth $26.57 billion (100 billion riyals) this year in addition to an earlier issue of $31.88 billion (120 billion riyals) worth of debt.


Saudi Aramco, for its part, is considering a $10 billion sale in part of its pipeline business, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.


“The kingdom went through similar crises in its history – maybe even worse – and was able to pass through them,” Al-Jadaan said. “This is not an exception.”


Most observers note that this price crisis is like no other in history. The unique combination of excess supply and a 30 percent drop in demand weighs heavily on oil-dependent economies throughout the world, and even low-cost Saudi Arabia is not exempt. 


The oil market is indeed flooded. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week, citing Saudi oil officials, that at least one in every ten VLCCs, each capable of carrying 2 million barrels of oil, is used for floating storage with many holding Saudi crude. Some of that, the sources said, had yet to find buyers.


Saudi Arabia is bracing for the inevitable blow. In March, the government asked state agencies to cut their budgets by at least 20 percent, Reuters reported, citing sources in the know who declined to be named. That was before OPEC+ agreed to implement cuts of 9.7 million bpd in hopes this would help prices. It didn’t.


Now, according to an analyst with an Egypt-based investment bank, the Saudi deficit could widen to 15 percent of GDP, Bloomberg notes. That would be less than the 17 percent recorded for 2016, but it would still be quite brutal for the Kingdom that had to roll back austerity measures it implemented during the 2014-2016 crisis pretty quickly as bureaucrats rebelled.

Related Articles

Egyptian Investors Join Mauritania in $1.3 Billion Gas Development Partnership

Mauritanian Minister of Petroleum, Mines, and Energy Nani Ould Chrougha, has signed an exploration-production contract for the development of the Banda gas field in Mauritania with the Taqa Arabia Go Gas Consortium.

Read More

TechnipFMC Secures Whiptail Project Contract with ExxonMobil Guyana

TechnipFMC has been awarded a contract by ExxonMobil Guyana Limited for the Whiptail project in Guyana Stabroek Block

Read More

Fadhili Gas Plant Expansion: Aramco Awards $7.7 Billion in EPC Contracts

Aramco Grants $7.7 Billion in EPC Contracts for Fadhili Gas Plant Expansion in Saudi ArabiaSaudi Aramco has recently awarded engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracts worth $7.7 billion to facilitate a significant expansion of the Fadhili Gas Plant located in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.

Read More
Wintershall Deaneptune LogoSIEnppipetrojetTransGlobe SCHNEIDER-ELECTRIChempleEgypt gasNorthAlmansooriSKY CTS exxonmobilSchlumbergerhttps://www.shell.com/GascoCPCAlmansoori