15 Charts That Should Terrify Saudi Arabia

Billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed has sounded the alarm about the threat shale oil and gas development poses to the petro-kingdom's barely diversified economy.

It's taken awhile for such a prominent Saudi to acknowledge this fact.

But it's been pretty clear to the rest of the world.

In March, for instance, Norway's foreign minister said America's shale boom could rearrange the Middle East's balance of power.

Then in May, the vice-president of Bahrain-based Nexant Middle East told the FT's Ayesha Daya that the kingdom's proposed petrochemical investments would miss the mark:

The shale gas boom has returned focus to the US. So it’s reasonable to suppose that some companies, especially those from the US, won’t develop additional projects in the Middle East as they look to spread their geopolitical risk and invest in the US.

The kingdom still rules the oil world in major production stats: production(11.2 million barrels a day), exports (8.5 million barrels a day), and largest oil deposit (the Ghawar field at an estimated 70 billion barrels).

But with the help of some charts from AEI's Mark Perry, who's been chronicling America's energy boom better than anyone, and the now-instant classic note, "The End Is Nigh [for rising oil demand]" from Citi's Seth Kleinman and Ed Morse, we bring you 15 charts that should scare the crude out of the Saudis.