While the whole world is counting losses from the coronavirus crisis, Saudi Arabia is estimating the impact of the oil crisis. The sum turns out to be considerable.

According to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia lost 100 billion riyals, or $27 billion, due to the fall in crude oil prices that occurred earlier this year. Of course, the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic is having the greatest impact on the oil market. Energy demand decreased dramatically. The restrictive measures introduced to halt the outbreak significantly reduced global oil consumption and boosted the already abundant supply glut in the market. In addition, the industry was experiencing a decline in oil prices even before the pandemic. The coronavirus just exacerbated the situation. Saudi officials expected government revenues to amount to 833 billion riyals, with 513 billion coming from oil proceeds. Thus, the kingdom's budget deficit widened to 12%. These losses sparked serious discussions on the ways to increase non-oil revenues. Currently, Saudi Arabia is actively looking for additional earning opportunities.

This summer, the country's authorities increased taxes and fees for the first time. Its value added tax was tripled from 5% to 15%. In addition, the kingdom lifted customs duties by 0.5-15.0 percentage points for some import goods.