Saudi Arabia's Export Capacity Continues To Fall -- Motley Fool

As stated before, I don't care of Motley Fool all that much, but every so often, I enjoy their posts. This is one of them: very, very interesting.

Part of the article:

The other major factor that suggests Saudi Arabia's influence on global oil prices could wane over the next few years is the kingdom's high and rising consumption of its own oil. In just under three decades, the Saudi population has more than doubled, from a little over 13 million in 1985 to more than 28 million people today. As the population has grown, the nation's demand for energy has exploded.

In fact, Saudi oil consumption relative to its economic output is twice the global average. In per capita terms, the Saudis consume more oil than even the United States. In fact, of the almost 10 million barrels per day the kingdom produces, its own citizens use up roughly a quarter.

That may be surprising considering that women -- who account for about 45% of the population -- are not allowed to drive, but not so much when you factor in the extravagant sports cars commonly sighted on Saudi roads and highways. I may be stating the obvious here, but Bugattis and Lamborghinis don't exactly get the best gas mileage.

As the nation's domestic consumption has risen, its export potential has fallen. From 2005 to 2010, Saudi exports declined 23%, from 7.5 million barrels a day to 5.8 million. With domestic consumption expected to rise in the coming years, exports are likely to fall further.

In conjunction with a recent Bloomberg article suggesting the same, this is becoming quite interesting.