“The Saudis considered the petroleum under their soil a gift from God, but accessing its value laid within man’s capacity.” Saudi ArabiaPetroleum Book:Saudi, Inc. Source: Saudi, Inc.
“The Saudi experience with IBI, though brief, proved instrumental and became a model for how the Saudis went on to conduct business. Saudi Arabia understood that it lacked the resources of more developed nations. These included a large population, an educated populace, capital, credit, and native businesses. What Saudi Arabia realized it did have was an immense quantity of a very desirable resource: petroleum. Because it lacked so many resources, it could not drill for, extract, refine, transport, or sell that petroleum on its own. It needed outside firms to access the value of the petroleum, at least initially.” DiplomacySaudi ArabiaPetroleum IndustryResouces Book:Saudi, Inc. Source: Saudi, Inc.
“In 1979, while Saudi Arabia was in the midst of a process of liberalization, a group of religious fanatics seized the Grand Mosque in Mecca. The Masjid al-Haram houses the kaaba, considered the holiest sitefor Muslims. This incident was a national trauma and transformative for al Saud, who reacted to it with an increased religious traditionalism enforced by the government and spearheaded by the ulama. Ambassador Smith credited a clear transformation to what occurred in 1979. “Saudi Arabia started going ultraconservative after the takeover of the Holy Mosque.” Saudi ArabiaRadical Islam Book:Saudi, Inc. Source: Saudi, Inc.