Special to WorldTribune.com

ABU DHABI — Saudi Arabia has again played down a threat from the emerging shale market in the United States.

The Jadwa Investment bank asserted that U.S. shale production marked a greater threat to Saudi Arabia’s petrochemical sector than the kingdom’s crude oil exports.

In a report, the Saudi bank predicted a slower-than-expected growth of the shale market amid environmental concerns.

“Our review of specialized public domain industry information suggests that production from U.S. tight oil and shale gas formations may not grow as fast and as much as most commentators suggest, mainly because wells in such formations have low productivity and short lives,” Jadwa said in a report on Dec. 18.

“Further, we believe that the prospects for exploiting shale formations in other countries may be hampered by local economic, political and environmental factors.”

Shale production has been cited as a leading factor in the reduction in
U.S. oil imports. The report said the by-product of shale development,
natural gas liquids, would mark a “significant impact on the world’s
petrochemical industry.”

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