It is not true that Saudi Arabia only looks at the present moment that is overflowing with oil, without keeping an eye on the future of the economy and the development of the Saudi citizens. And the fact that the state has not established a sovereign fund like other Gulf countries, does not mean that the Kingdom is uninterested in the purpose for which these massive financial funds are established. Even when dealing with the oil issue, the Kingdom does not do so by wagering on the rise of the prices and the reaping of the benefits from the global offer and demand crises. Indeed, there is a Saudi awareness working in complete harmony, far away from the propaganda between the decision-making circles in the Kingdom, in order to exploit this divine gift in a way serving the future Saudi generations. At this point, I will relay what was mentioned by the Saudi monarch during a Cabinet session. He said: "We were in the Cabinet and I said to the ministers, summon good things for my next subject. They said: What is it? I said: Ask that it lives long. They said: May it live long." They kept asking about his subject and he reiterated his request over and over again, to which they responded: "May it live long." He then replied: "I am talking about the oil," ordering the discontinuation of the prospecting activities to leave whatever remains in the earth's underground for the future generations. There is no doubt that while the Kingdom's efforts to develop its non-oil exports are closely followed, its use of its main source of influence, i.e. the oil, is a story worth being told with great appreciation, as it does not go against Riyadh's ongoing pledges to maintain the prices' stability and increase production based on demand. At this level, one can recall Riyadh's action in mid-2008, at the peak of the global financial crisis, by inviting the leaders of 35 states, 25 oil companies and seven international organizations to the energy conference in Jeddah, in order to handle the acute rise which affected the oil prices. It thus refused to exploit the global crisis, while assuring it is not a greedy producing state and is interested in the markets' stability, balance between offer and demand and the continuous and safe flow of the oil to the consumers. What pushed me to summon the aforementioned episode is what was previously written by American writer Clifford Krauss of the New York Times on April 4, under the headline "Texas Refinery Is Saudi Foothold in U.S. Market." He said: "It is hard to imagine the desert sands of the Persian Gulf being any farther away than from this swampy refinery port (Port Arthur –Texas) known for Cajun food, sport fishing and being the birthplace of Janis Joplin. But right in the middle of town stands a strategic outpost for Saudi Arabia's global ambitions, although one that the Saudis appear loath to publicize." He added: "The giant Motiva oil refinery, which just completed a $10 billion expansion that makes it the largest processor of gasoline, diesel and other petroleum products in the United States, is owned by Saudi Aramco and Royal Dutch Shell in a 50-50 partnership." "Saudi Aramco's investment in the refinery expansion is meant to ensure that Saudi Arabia will retain an important market for its crude in the United States at a time when American politicians are declaring their intention to wean the country off imported oil. Adding to the urgency for the Saudis is the fact that the United States is vastly increasing its production and replacing OPEC crude with that from oil sands in Canada." The writer mentioned that "the Saudis have helped the United States and the global economy by increasing exports to moderate oil prices and top up worldwide supplies as the West applies sanctions against Iran. Saudi Arabia has been able to tap into its spare capacity, mostly lower-quality heavy sour crudes, to stretch its exports. Most refineries cannot easily process those crude oils, but the expanded Motiva refinery here can, freeing other Saudi grades for other markets." As for Fadel Gheit, a senior oil analyst at Oppenheimer & Company, he said: "The Saudis are securing a home for their heavy crude. The refinery expansion is nothing if not mammoth. It contains a million feet of pipe and a thousand miles of instrument cables; 63,000 concrete pilings were driven into the swamplands to stabilize the skyscraping distillation and heating towers." For his part, Director of the Energy Policy Research Foundation Lawrence Goldstein, said that the Motiva relationship guarantees the Saudis an important but subtle footprint in the United States, indicating they want to have some negotiating strength when geopolitical issues in the Middle East and elsewhere arise. Saudi Aramco's President Khalid Al-Falih stressed the importance of the refinery for his country by stating: "Our commitment to this market is unwavering." Saudi Aramco is considered to be the world's biggest oil company and with the Motiva refinery's increased capacity, it is well on its way to achieving its goal of surpassing Exxon Mobil as the world's largest refiner in the next few years, with Saudi Aramco's joint ventures in China, South Korea, India and the Netherlands. Motiva currently owns two refineries in the state of Louisiana and is marketing its production via a network of around 7,700 Shell-branded gasoline stations across the United States. Motiva Refinery can process 600,000 barrels of diesel, gasoline, jet fuel and other products and is designed to refine Saudi crude oil and crudes produced by Shell in the Gulf of Mexico. It can also process Canadian crude oil and other crudes produced by American and Latin American fields.
