Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Company (Petro Rabigh) registered Saudi Arabia, which is engaged in oil refining and petrochemical production such as polyethylene and polypropylene; Losses of 3.2 billion riyals at the end of the first half of 2020, compared to losses of 52 million riyals during the same period last year (the dollar equals 3.75 riyals).
The company said - in a statement - Monday that the reason for the high losses during the current period compared to the same period in the previous year is due to "the complete suspension of the company's industrial complex for a period of two months during the current period, in order to conduct maintenance."
The company pointed out that the decrease in profit margin on products during this period due to the difficult economic conditions, and the continuation of the Corona pandemic, which led to a decrease in demand for products and greater price pressure, in addition to a decrease in the average production of the refinery by 54%, and a decrease in the volume of petrochemical products by 15% .
Earlier this month, Saudi Central Bank Governor Ahmed Al-Khulaifi said that the kingdom's economy probably declined in the second quarter more than the first three months of this year.
Al-Khulaifi confirmed - at the end of a hypothetical meeting of financial officials of the Group of Twenty - that he did not expect the Saudi economy to improve in the second quarter despite the improvement in June.
The Saudi economy shrank by 1% in the first quarter of this year, affected by the Corona virus and the drop in oil prices.
Oil exports are declining
The surplus of the Saudi foreign trade balance (oil and non-oil) fell by 60.3% year on year during the first five months of 2020.
According to a survey of Anatolia, based on data issued by the General Authority for Statistics in Saudi Arabia, the trade balance surplus amounted to $ 19.9 billion, compared to about $ 50.2 billion during the same period last year.
The value of merchandise exports (oil and non-oil) decreased by 36.2%, to $ 72.4 billion, and imports fell 17.1% to $ 52.5 billion.
The value of oil exports to Saudi Arabia fell during the first five months of this year by 40%, to $ 52.75 billion.
During last May alone, the value of Saudi oil exports decreased 65% year on year, to drop to the equivalent of 12 billion dollars, according to Reuters reported.
Oil prices have been hit hard this year by the implications of the Corona Virus outbreak on global demand for crude, which is the main source of income for Saudi Arabia.