Rab
And now, you know what the U.S. involvement in the Syrian Civil War is really all about.
Without a direct pipeline link to Europe, that gas is just too expensive to tanker around, with so many other sources opening up.
There are unique problems to dealing in the kingdom. There are for example, thousands of princes who demand stroking. I talked to a project manager whose project was suddenly overrun and stopped by the army. A prince told him a not-so-subtle way that he expected a bribe. The PM got a message to his price who was higher on the chain and the army hastily evacuated. So, they could have run into greed. Another issue is the gas prices are controlled. When prices are controlled manufacturers quickly get out of the business. Then there’s the return on investment. If they have x funds to invest and their return in Saudi is y but they can make 10xy in South Dakota, they go to South Dakota.
Lastly, any long term view of Saudi Arabia says it’s due for a massive civil war. I’ll wager that all oil companies are hedging their middle east bets with investment elsewhere. By the time the middle east dives back into the seventh century for good it will be irrelevant.