Saudi Oil Export Revenue Hits Three-Year High Amid Regional Tensions

Saudi Arabia’s revenue from oil exports jumped to a more than three-year high of $24.7 billion in March of this year, according to the General Authority for Statistics.

Revenue was the highest since October 2022, largely due to rising crude and refined product prices resulting from the war.

With the exception of the UAE, which has a pipeline to bypass the Strait of Hormuz via Fujairah and Oman, a small oil producer compared to its neighbours, the Gulf has been unable to capitalise on rising oil and gas prices.

The Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed by competing US and Iranian blockades.

Oil revenue soars

Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline, which connects its Gulf coast to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, has allowed it to effectively bypass the Strait of Hormuz.

Saudi Arabia is exporting at around 70 percent of its pre-war levels. Meanwhile, Brent, the international benchmark, is trading at 50 percent above its pre-war levels.

Despite this, it still has a fiscal deficit, meaning the government is spending more money than it is generating in revenue.

The country's deficit was $33.5bn in the first quarter, with total government spending rising 20 percent year-on-year.

Saudi Arabia says it has had to increase spending to support the wider economy. Military spending also increased 26 percent in the first quarter, as Saudi Arabia responded to Iranian missile and drone attacks.

In recent months, Saudi Arabia has drastically scaled back megaprojects that rely heavily on outside consultants and pivoted towards logistics, mining, tech, and AI-related projects. Its flagship megaproject, Neom, was entirely omitted from its 2026 pre-budget statement.