Over $27bn in loses in Saudi due to oil price crash

Saudi Arabia will lose more than 100 billion riyals (over $27 billion) in 2020 due to the fall in crude oil prices this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman said, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reports.

Government revenues are expected to be 833 billion riyals ($233 billion) this year, with 513 billion riyals ($136.8 billion) coming from oil proceeds.

“We have been able to maintain wages of citizens, majority of the allowances and bonuses, as well as to continue funding up 137 billion riyals [$36.5 billion] in capital expenditures and cover high health care expenses to the amount of 188 billion riyals [$50.1 billion] due to the pandemic,” the crown prince said.

According to a report by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the world’s top 12 publicly-traded oil-producing companies posted a total net loss of more than $20 billion in the first quarter of 2020.

As the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) brought global transportation to an almost complete halt, oil consumption around the world decreased dramatically over the past several months. Low demand pushed crude prices to plummet in April to their lowest level since 1999.

READ: Should Russia really declare an oil price war against the Middle East?