“If dividends are lowered, a higher oil price would boost Aramco transfers to the sovereign through taxes and royalties instead,” Jean-Michel Saliba, MENA economist at Bank of America, said in a research note. This leaves crude revenues at the centre of the kingdom’s strategy targeting 27 trillion riyals ($7.2 trillion) in domestic spending by 2030. The scale of the investment plan means OPEC leader Saudi Arabia may need to curb supply over the coming years to boost oil prices. The fiscal benefits of higher oil prices can outweigh the impact on the economy of lower oil production. Extending this pace to 2030 would bring PIF’s total investments to 1.5 trillion riyals between 2021 and 2030.

Source: Egypt Independent April 09, 2021 12:45 UTC