In the Land of Oil

Oil – what catapulted Saudi from a Bedouin culture to one of the richest in the world in 70 some years.
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When we first came to Saudi, gas was insanely cheap. Then, three and a half months later on Jan. 1, 2018 (literally a couple weeks after we bought a car) the price more than doubled. Even then, it was still cheaper than gas in the US – maybe a little over $1/gallon. I’m going with approximate prices here bc all these riyal-to-dollar and liter-to-gas conversions are making my head spin.  Thanks to Corona, gas has recently been dropping in price again and yesterday it was about $.90/gallon.
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Along with the gas price change on Jan. 1, 2018, Saudi instituted a 5% Value-Added Tax (a tax assessed on all goods and services), basically like a sales tax. And today, July 1st, they just increased it from 5% to 15%. 😳 That’s why on June 30th there was a mile-long line just to get into the IKEA parking garage (a friend so wisely explained to me) 😂 they were scooping that furniture up while it was 10% cheaper!!
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The VAT increase is an extension of Saudi attempting to reduce their reliance on oil revenues, recover from the pandemic’s effects, and provide more stability to the economy. We don’t blame them, but ouch, 10% is quite a jump.
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Other tidbits about gas stations here:
– they pump the gas for you
– there are only two gas options, 91 or 95
– you leave your car running while they fill it (gotta keep the a/c on!)
– tips are appreciated (the attendants stand outside in the heat all day, breathing in gas fumes – they definitely deserve a tip)
– you can’t get gas during prayer times (this might be changing)