The number of factories operating in Saudi Arabia witnessed a significant increase by the end of 2013 to reach 6,500 factories, with investments amounting to 880 billion riyals, growing by more than 53% over the last ten years, due to the availability of infrastructure and the great facilities it finds from the competent authorities.

Industrial investments
According to Crescent Petroleum's report, the region is moving towards increasing large-scale industrial investments, as a large proportion of the industrial sector in the GCC countries is concentrated on medium and small-sized industrial facilities, which contribute no more than 30% of GDP.

The volume of investments concentrated in small and medium industries in the GCC countries is estimated at $14 billion at the end of 2012, and the importance of small and medium enterprises is increasing due to their importance in economic and social development and their role in revitalizing the commercial sector, increasing production from all sectors and reducing unemployment rates in the region, if the industry succeeds in increasing its share of global markets.
In the context, the report showed that the cumulative investments in the industrial sector in the Gulf countries exceeded the level of 220 billion dollars, of which small and medium industrial enterprises account for approximately 86%, while large industries are concentrated in the petrochemical, iron and aluminum sectors.

Production capacity
The industrial sector ranks first in terms of planning, expansion and increasing investments in the productive sectors, with the aim of increasing the productive capacity of the industrial sector over the next few years, as the industrial sector is classified as one of the sectors with many opportunities for success and expansion.
The report pointed out that the investment focus recorded by the private and government sectors will impose new challenges on the volume of energy consumption currently and during the coming period, while maintaining the competitiveness of products in international markets will represent the maintenance of low cost, of which the cost of energy is the most important item. Thus, any rise in energy prices or difficulty in providing energy will ultimately lead to higher investment risks for the industrial sector and significant losses on existing investments.

Energy consumption
On the other hand, GCC countries seek to permanently reduce the volume of energy consumption at the local level through the enactment of modern laws that reduce consumption rates, in addition to the introduction of technologies that work to control and rationalize consumption in all sectors, which contradicts the planned expansion plans for the industrial sector in particular and the productive sectors in general.

The report expects electricity demand to grow by 9% per year until 2020, which will put significant pressure on the volume of gas produced and exported at this level of consumption.
With this level of consumption, there is an urgent need to look for additional energy sources, and shale energy is expected to be a safe exit for the industrial sector in the medium term, stabilizing its prices and reducing the fluctuation ranges and thus contributing to supporting industries that rely on shale gas.
While it will be necessary for the relevant parties to find feasible solutions to overcome the challenges related to the implementation of expansion plans on the productive sectors and the provision of energy sources permanently and at competitive prices.