Saudi Arabia Oil Refining Market Overview, 2030

Saudi Arabia holds the largest oil refining infrastructure in the Middle East, with Saudi Aramco operating and owning the majority of refining capacity within the country. As of 2024, Saudi Arabia has a domestic refining capacity exceeding 3.6 million barrels per day across multiple large-scale complexes. The Ras Tanura refinery, located in the Eastern Province, is the oldest and among the largest, with a capacity of around 550,000 barrels per day. Jazan refinery, in the southwest, is a relatively new facility with an estimated capacity of 400,000 barrels per day and is integrated with a power plant and port infrastructure, enhancing export capability. Other major complexes include Petro Rabigh (a joint venture with Sumitomo Chemical), Yanbu (home to YASREF and SAMREF), and Jubail (housing the SATORP refinery in partnership with TotalEnergies). These refineries are strategically located on both the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, offering direct shipping access to Europe, Asia, and Africa. Saudi Arabia’s refining operations are export-oriented and increasingly integrated with petrochemical production, enabling the country to move further downstream in the hydrocarbon value chain. Through international joint ventures such as Motiva Enterprises in the United States and S-Oil in South Korea, Saudi Aramco maintains a global refining footprint that supports its crude oil marketing strategy and secures long-term product demand. Aramco’s refining expansion aligns closely with Saudi Vision 2030, a national initiative to diversify the economy by boosting the industrial and energy sectors. New projects are focused on maximizing value from crude by increasing yields of high-value refined products and integrating with specialty chemicals. Environmental pressures are also shaping the sector, as Saudi Aramco pilots low-emission technologies, sulfur reduction units, and early-stage hydrogen production initiatives within its refining assets to meet evolving global fuel standards and decarbonization goals.

According to the research report ""Saudi Arabia Oil Refining Market Overview, 2030,"" published by Bonafide Research, the Saudi Arabia Oil Refining market is anticipated to grow at more than 6.14% CAGR from 2025 to 2030. The country’s fuel demand remains high due to population growth, transport expansion, and power generation needs in regions where oil products still dominate. Refineries in Saudi Arabia operate at utilization rates averaging over 85%, supported by secure feedstock from domestic oilfields and logistical infrastructure such as pipelines and marine terminals. Investment has been directed toward modernizing older refineries to meet international standards such as Euro-VI and the International Maritime Organization’s IMO 2020 sulfur limits. Aramco’s Jazan refinery, for instance, is expected to fully integrate into the national refining system by 2025 with advanced hydrocracking and desulfurization units. The company is also investing in renewable hydrogen co-processing, carbon capture, and synthetic fuel pilot projects across sites like Yanbu and Rabigh. Reforms in fuel pricing, transitioning from fixed subsidies to price parity with international benchmarks, are influencing operational economics and investment flows. Challenges remain, including high water and energy consumption of refineries, feedstock price volatility, and environmental compliance costs. However, Saudi Arabia is leveraging its scale, global partnerships, and central location to position its refining sector as a global supply chain node. Export growth is driven by refined fuel shipments to Asia and Africa, while petrochemical-linked demand supports long-term product offtake. Crack spreads remain favorable due to product slate optimization and strategic integration with Aramco’s chemical subsidiaries like SABIC. The kingdom continues to upgrade refining capacity and adopt hybrid operating models that support energy efficiency and downstream diversification.

In Saudi Arabia, Diesel leads in volume due to extensive use in logistics, freight, construction, and agricultural machinery. This aligns with national infrastructure expansion and export-focused industrial zones. Gasoline remains critical for daily mobility, as urban hubs like Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam record high vehicle ownership and steady consumption. Jet fuel demand is strong at major airports such as King Abdulaziz and King Khalid, with air travel growth supported by expanding airlines, cargo movement, and pilgrimage-driven tourism. Fuel oil still plays a role in power generation, especially in remote and industrial regions with limited gas access, and supports the export portfolio. LPG output primarily feeds export contracts, while domestic use is modest, limited to residential cooking or heating in non-gasified zones. Asphalt and lubricants show stable demand amid large-scale infrastructure and construction activity. Projects under Vision 2030, including mega cities and road networks, contribute to higher consumption of these by-products. Refineries like SATORP, Jazan, and Rabigh focus on producing cleaner, export-compliant fuels with high efficiency and yield optimization, balancing domestic use with global market competitiveness. Product quality remains aligned with Euro standards, especially in diesel and gasoline segments. This diversified fuel mix strengthens Saudi Arabia’s energy portfolio and secures its downstream presence across both local consumption and refined product exports.

Fuel demand in Saudi Arabia is segmented across road transport, aviation, marine bunkering, petrochemical industry, electricity generation, residential and commercial use, and minor industrial categories like rail and agriculture. Road transport is the primary driver, supported by extensive highway systems and widespread reliance on gasoline and diesel for private and commercial vehicles. Large-scale infrastructure works and logistics hubs also consume significant fuel in construction machinery and heavy transport. Aviation holds strategic importance, with Jeddah, Riyadh, and Dammam acting as major international gateways. Rising airline activity and cargo flights have brought jet fuel demand back to pre-pandemic levels. Marine fuel demand is concentrated around ports such as Ras Tanura, Jeddah, and King Abdullah Port, where bunkering operations serve domestic and international shipping fleets. These ports use compliant low-sulfur marine fuels in line with IMO regulations. The petrochemical sector is a major fuel and feedstock consumer, with plants in Yanbu and Jubail converting naphtha and other intermediates into chemicals through integrated refinery-petrochemical systems. Power generation, especially in off-grid zones and during peak demand, relies on diesel and fuel oil, often as backup energy sources for desalination plants, industry, and residential use. LPG is used in limited volumes for household needs where natural gas pipelines are unavailable. In agriculture, diesel supports irrigation systems and farm equipment, particularly in central and eastern farming zones. Railway fuel consumption remains low but consistent for freight routes.

Saudi Arabia’s refining sector is heavily anchored in domestic crude oil feedstock, primarily from giant fields like Ghawar, Shaybah, and Safaniya. Aramco supplies its network of refineries through well-established pipelines, ensuring seamless and uninterrupted flow of heavy-sour and medium-sour crudes to plants located at Ras Tanura, Yanbu, Jazan, and Jubail. This secure supply chain reduces dependence on crude imports and supports consistent operational capacity across refining hubs. In addition to crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs) sourced from associated gas fields serve as supplemental feedstock, especially in facilities that also produce LPG or naphtha for petrochemical processing. These condensates improve the yield of lighter products and feed refinery-petrochemical integration. The country does not currently rely on biomass or bio-based feedstocks, and alternative renewable feedstock usage is minimal, though long-term strategies may incorporate such sources under clean energy transition plans. Coal tar and other unconventional inputs are not used, as Saudi Arabia lacks coal reserves and does not operate coal-to-liquid facilities. The focus remains on optimizing indigenous hydrocarbon resources through advanced refining techniques and strategic allocation of light and heavy feedstocks across refineries depending on their complexity. Aramco balances feedstock flows to meet both domestic fuel demand and export obligations while adapting to shifts in global crude benchmarks and product pricing. Refinery throughput planning also considers seasonal consumption trends and quality mandates. With full control over upstream supply, midstream logistics, and downstream processing, Saudi Arabia maintains a highly integrated and resilient feedstock system built around its crude abundance.

Saudi Arabia operates one of the world’s most advanced refinery portfolios, featuring high-complexity configurations such as hydrocracking, coking, and residue upgrading. Refineries like Jazan, SATORP, and Yasref are designed for deep conversion, handling heavy-sour crudes and maximizing output of light, high-value products like diesel, jet fuel, and naphtha. These facilities use complex processing units such as delayed cokers, hydrocrackers, and fluid catalytic crackers to enhance product flexibility and reduce low-value residues. Older hydro-skimming refineries with simpler setups, such as basic distillation and reforming, have undergone upgrades or capacity optimization to meet evolving fuel standards. Medium-complexity conversion refineries like Rabigh and Jubail integrate secondary units such as hydrotreaters and reformers, allowing them to adjust output based on domestic demand and export quality needs. The S-Oil partnership at SATORP and joint ventures with international players have introduced global best practices in yield enhancement and emissions reduction. Topping-only facilities are minimal and largely non-commercial due to their limited output variety. Environmental compliance is central to refinery design and upgrades, with ongoing investments in desulfurization, energy efficiency, and emissions controls to meet global standards such as Euro V diesel. The trend toward refinery-petrochemical integration is evident at Rabigh and Yanbu, where output is split between fuels and chemical intermediates. This high complexity across refineries enables Saudi Arabia to process diverse crude slates, including heavier and sour grades, while producing cleaner fuels and maintaining strong margins in international markets. The refining infrastructure supports Vision 2030’s goals for value addition, economic diversification, and cleaner energy systems.

Considered in this report
• Historic Year: 2019
• Base year: 2024
• Estimated year: 2025
• Forecast year: 2030

Aspects covered in this report
• Oil Refining Market with its value and forecast along with its segments
• Various drivers and challenges
• On-going trends and developments
• Top profiled companies
• Strategic recommendation

By Fule Type
• Gasoline
• Diesel/Gasoil
• Jet Fuel
• LPG
• Fuel Oil
• Others (Lubricants, Asphalt)

By Application
• Road Transportation
• Aviation
• Marine Bunker
• Petrochemical Industry
• Residential & Commercial
• Electricity Generation
• Others (Rail & Domestic Waterways, Agriculture)

By Feedstock
• Crude Oil
• Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs)
• Biomass
• Others (Coal Tar, etc.)

By Complexity Type
• Topping
• Hydro-skimming
• Conversion
• Deep Conversion
• Others Show more