The Saudi state-run media started manipulating the people in the eastern Saudi region, which includes Al-Ahsa and its surroundings, by claiming that the region is now home to a sizable newly discovered gas reserve, which will brighten the region’s future with new trade and economic activity. But according to experts, the future of this area, which Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) started to focus on, is in danger, as the recent propaganda campaign does not refer to new oil and gas discoveries; rather, it heralds the start of a new campaign of demolition and forced displacement, akin to what occurred in Jeddah and NEOM.
Nasser Al-Naimi, head of the upstream business at Saudi Arabian Oil Co. said that the company has discovered an additional 15 trillion standard cubic feet of gas in the Kingdom’s Jafurah Field which includes 2 billion barrels of condensate.
This discovery made by the energy giant, also known as Saudi Aramco, was a result of applying the highest international standards in estimating and developing hydrocarbon resources to ensure their proper exploitation, he said in press statements.
Human rights advocates thought the media was lying to the locals and harbored fears for their future. The Al-Ahsa region and its surroundings will experience a new reality following development, the arrival of significant companies, the creation of jobs, and the reconstruction and restoration of the region’s infrastructure, according to the state-run media. However, MBS’s experiences in other regions suggest that the region may face fears of land seizure and population displacement in the future. One such instance is the city of Neom, where MBS killed and imprisoned some of the people who disagreed with his forced displacement orders.
Drying groundwater for exploration and drilling operations will also worsen the region’s pollution crisis and intensify smoke from refining operations, providing the state with an excuse to forcibly relocate people under the guise of protecting the local population’s health.
Furthermore, the nation’s prior experiences with Aramco, NEOM, and Jeddah all predicted higher employment rates, but this did not materialize. Instead, a large number of people lost their jobs and followed MBS’s unrealistic dreams, and very few succeeded in finding employment, leading to a decline in the number of young Saudi workers.
Like with all major projects undertaken in countries around the world, economists had hoped that MBS’s proposed projects would have a significant impact on the people and the economy. Sadly, however, the returns go straight to the government’s coffers, depriving the people of the region of genuine benefits after the unequal distribution of wealth throughout all regions. This is because the damage caused extends beyond environmental pollution and its negative health effects to the point of closing roads and obstructing traffic in the area.
The main points of Aramco’s announcement of new reserve discoveries were disputed by Simon Watkins, a financial journalist for the Oil Price website. Watkins questioned the veracity of the discoveries, particularly given that they are being repeated in light of the country’s geopolitical conditions.
