Saudi Electricity Company: Saudi Arabia May Run Out of Oil by 2030

Saudi Arabia may be running out of oil. In a recent article in El Economista magazine, Abdel Salam al-Yamani, a public affairs official for the Saudi Electricity Company, voiced concern over Saudi Arabia's current supply:

The electricity company of Saudi Arabia has set off alarms to warn that oil in this country could be depleted by 2030 if left unchecked domestic consumption. According to a report of this company, it is estimated between 2.5 and 3.4 million barrels a day.

The report, published in the magazine Al Mashka of the company itself says that the increase in domestic consumption of oil is one of the main challenges facing the country, mainly because oil accounts for 80% of national income.

Abdel Salam al-Yamani, head of the Saudi Electricity Company company also warned of the consequences for citizens to ignore the calls to save electricity and water, and has advised that they depend more on solar energy.

Back in February, The Guardian reported on some Wikileaks documents which indicated that Saudi Arabia's reserves have been overestimated and that oil capacity is something to be concerned about:

The cables, released by WikiLeaks, urge Washington to take seriously a warning from a senior Saudi government oil executive that the kingdom's crude oil reserves may have been overstated by as much as 300bn barrels – nearly 40%.

The revelation comes as the oil price has soared in recent weeks to more than $100 a barrel on global demand and tensions in the Middle East. Many analysts expect that the Saudis and their Opec cartel partners would pump more oil if rising prices threatened to choke off demand.

Earlier today, with OPEC refusing to raise official production rate, Saudi Arabia decided to boost production on its own. The Middle Eastern nation will substantially increase its own production to help bridge divides created by the Libyan crisis. This move is being looked at as a direct slap to Iran (Iran blocked Saudi Arabia's attempt to raise production this year). Below, MSNBC asks if Saudi Arabia can bring the cost of oil down:

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If these reports are true, though, Saudi Arabia is limited in terms of how much the nation can boost productivity. In the longterm, oil supplies may be depleted, thus causing shortages and skyrocketing prices.