SAUDI ARABIA Cash Crisis: Neom Development & The Line Look Doomed as Oil Revenue Crashes & GDP Falls

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Saudi Arabia has the Second Largest Oil Reserves in the World and is the World's Largest Exporter of Oil. As a result it receives huge amounts of revenue each year however GDP is falling and Saudi Arabia's Current Account is dwindling due to ambitious spending plans. In this video I look at the NEOM project aims to build a FUTURISTIC City called THE LINE which is a 3 dimensional city which will be in a 100 mile straight line and encased in mirrored glass, I provide details of the funding of this project as well as what is happening in the economy of Saudi Arabia and discuss the problems that the country is now facing.
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Chapters:
0:00 Intro
3:54 SAUDI ARABIA
5:41 NEOM
8:34 OIL
10:42 OPEC+
11:23 SAUDI ARABIA BUDGET
15:18 ECONOMY
19:29 OUTLOOK
20:27 SUMMARY & CONCLUSION
#saudiarabia
#neom
#theline
#vision2030
#aramco
#UKRAINE
#russia
#uk
#pricecap
#GLOBALFINANCIALCRISIS
#RUBLE
#SWIFT
#RECESSION
#CHINA
#USA
#NATO
#WW3
#WORLDWAR3

[@hermes7587]

This project mainly exist to make a living for consultants and 3D artists. There is absolutely no point to built a city for 9 million people from scratch in the middle of a desert where there is absolutely nothing of economical value. This is not how cities work. Building artifical cities appears to be a favorite hobby for autocrats and it almost always fails because all these grandiose plans fail to acknowledge basic human needs and nature.

[@bokhans]

Lots of them in China, Ashgabat in Turkmenistan, Hitlers Berlin, Egypts new capital and Brasilia just to mention a few!

[@saysimonsaid1576]

There is IF you have a crap load of money and nobody to tell you that your ideas are dumb

[@BradPrichard]

Pretty much, but they managed to milk MBS and his cronies for so much money on such a blatantly ridiculous idea. Gotta give some respect to that grift.

[@looseycanon]

Not necessarily. If you were to concentrate some kind of manufacturing from initial resource to final product of something, that takes many steps, you could in theory attract even more people, depending on scale and complexity of production. What is ridiculous is doing it without cars and in a line, particularly, when there is no limiting geography to deal with. There absolutely are isolated in the middle of nowhere major cities, just look at Perth! But there is always a reason to build that city, be it easy access to water or presence of natural resource.

[@saysimonsaid1576]

@@looseycanon You said Perth, did you (by chance) mean Petra? That city was built on a major trade route (SILK ROAD) and died the moment people found an alternate route. The Saudi natives don't have the work ethics needed to make ANY domestic manufacturing project productive. Joe touched on this when he mentioned the huge number of migrant workers.

[@Silks-]

Laughable how people thought it would be built to completion in the first place. Everyone's so gullible these days.

[@brianm.595]

I've only seen skepticism except for Saudi officials. The design isn't sustainable, feasible, etc. They will struggle with basics like water if they actually built it. We are talking about thousands of empire state buildings stacked... never going to happen. Furthermore, nothing has changed with gullibility. People remain just as gullible as they always have been.

[@srj607able]

Well they believe in a religion from an analphabètic nomad. ... enuf said...

[@elftax]

@@brianm.595don’t blame the Saudi officials, they saw what happened to Kashogghi after he expressed scepticism towards the ambitions of the Crown Prince

[@elftax]

If a rich man wants to do something stupid, you don’t try to talk him out of it but ask how you can help… the fool will do it anyway and it will fail with or without you, so why not make $$$ out of it.

[@Silks-]

@@elftax the issue is wealth disparity I.e the unfairness and exploitation involved in these people having this wealth, and the impacts these projects have on the environment. Story as old as time though and there’s no stopping it so vent over

[@dragonflytoo]

'The Line' looks like a prison to me. 🤔

[@mbotentoto5162]

looks like a wall, i guess anticipated demographic shift west to east?

[@GA-br8wj]

I believe the line refers to the amounts of coke they were taking when "designing" that abomination.

[@Cibafricanizando]

Yes, it's a modern prison

[@dwavenminer]

"Looks like"...because it was supposed to be one to keep the general population under the thumb.

[@45graham45]

It is.

[@rothauspils123]

The Line was never going to be a thing.

[@bokhans]

We were thousands pointing out that many years ago and nothing has change to the better, rather the opposite. Made dictators are not the best leaders of any country. They always come up with penis measuring projects of no value! Look at Turkmenistan for an excellent example.

[@Justsomeguyyuyu]

Should have been a square. According to wiki it was only going to be 13 square miles in total size. So about 3.7 miles by 3.7 miles. Meaning you could bicycle from any two points very comfortably in under 30 minutes.

[@la7era1u54]

A line is literally the worst shape to build a city. What if you live on one end and want to travel to the other end? Those spots in the middle will cost a premium for sure. There is a reason why a spoked wheel with concentric circles is the best design... It's because it is efficient. History has proven this

[@penderyn8794]

Saudi Arabia has drawn a Line in the sand with this now 😂

[@menkros1]

What about fetch?

[@tomispev]

The Line sounds absolutely dystopian.

[@flagmichael]

KZbin has "Metropolis" available. A silent movie and seriously dystopian.

[@Volkbrecht]

Don't get hung up on the line. It's the most flashy, but also the most irrelevant part of NEOM.

[@lewisbrand]

watch Patrick Boyle on his take : had me in stiches

[@peger]

@@Volkbrecht apparently that was the point. Allegedly prince and his lackeys just wanna just see a flashy cgi and start going to sleep when it come to more mondane stuff

[@truetech4158]

Ran by malignant manipulative debate evading murderous sociopaths no doubt.

[@__prometheus__]

Insane how these countries are blessed with valuable resources yet throw away all their money in meaningless, garbage, and vain projects.

[@vincentyeo88]

That might be a way to spread the wealth around and provide jobs for the plebs.

[@iivarilappalainen9836]

Easy come, easy go. It's the resource curse.

[@DimitriDelCastillo]

Because despite all their wealth and access to education they're still goatherds

[@Brommear]

Missing the biggest resource a country could have - Human Capital. Look at Switzerland or Singapore for examples of countries with little other resources.

[@SeattlePioneer]

> Sounds like the United States, and NASA in particular.

[@oldgreybeard2507]

I wonder why most cities are roughly circular. Ah, of course. Because it makes sense

[@rolandnelson6722]

Almost all cities are former villages set next to a source of fresh water. The Line meant to mock all other cities. What cities should have been going for is length. Of course they only ended up mocking themselves. When we think of planned ridiculousness we think of The Line.

[@la7era1u54]

A line is literally the worst shape to build a city. What if you live on one end and want to travel to the other end? Those spots in the middle will cost a premium for sure. There is a reason why a spoked wheel with concentric circles is the best design... It's because it is efficient

[@wachox]

Yup, is the least efficient design one could imagine forr a city

[@dmrr7739]

The middle won’t be the premium, the ends will be- especially the end near the sea and the airport. Even if the basement is full of maglev trains, there will never be the frequency to support the supposed population. Imagine replacing your body’s circulatory system with one long capillary that ran through your entire body- that’s the model for the line.

[@greebj]

"end to end in 20 minutes", sure, if literally nobody else on your train wants to stop on the way. Or maybe in testing it *felt* like only "20 minutes" because passengers spent most of the time comatose from the regular instant acceleration and deceleration between 0 and 500 km/h.

[@phdonme1]

Yeah you'll have about 2 seconds to get on your pod before it speeds up to Mach 3 to immediately slow down for the next stop.

[@Guitar6ty]

Nature abhors a straight line.

[@NothingIsKnown00]

I also recommend Patrick Boyle’s video on the same subject.

[@justicedemocrat9357]

Patrick Boyle is a grifter and can't be trusted.

[@FRIPPE_THE_GREAT]

The irony in the video is tangible as a gut punch.

[@davisutton1]

Also Adamsomething's video on the same topic is good.

[@scottkirby5016]

He is very optimistic on NEOM even down to his sponsor.

[@NotASeriousMoose]

​@@scottkirby5016But strangely will refuse any invitation to a Saudi embassy, I wonder why

[@kalewintermute28]

The most persistent message I heard about 'the Line' from it's inception was that it was ludicrous and couldn't possibly work.

[@lhaaa1059]

AND .... the world's largest oil producer building an entirely renewable city ....

[@Rampart.X]

​@@lhaaa1059what's renewable about it?

[@jochannan7379]

@@Rampart.X the ads.

[@moinyp]

The Line has, for the most part, been scrapped! Not only the cost was too high, but also impossible to build!

[@martinogold]

And it was a sh*t idea to begin with.

[@NotASeriousMoose]

But they already had destroyed ecosystems and forcedly evicted/killed the native population. And no, the Islamic Arabs are not the natives, even in SA.

[@vincentyeo88]

Building the impossible is like trying to achieve some fanciful ideas of those princely architects, never mind wasting taxpayers' money.

[@Volkbrecht]

Building it is the easy part. Running it would be ruinous, though. Not a lot of space for business in there, and even if they'd put that to the side, you'd still be in the middle of nowhere along a long stretch of this thing.

[@sittinandthinkin]

They've got the sand to make the glass 🪟

[@JurassicB8245]

Just follow any architectural/urban planning channel and they will tell you how realistic the line is... spoiler: if its ever built, no one will live there.

[@kurtwicklund8901]

Slight correction: not live, survive.

[@nntflow7058]

It's an investment projects where rich people all over the world bury their money on an overpriced apartments that they rent out on airbnb.

[@paulmoffat9306]

China did it first, with whole cities that have NO inhabitants. They are now demolishing them.

[@jetdathreat]

It will never be built. Doubtful it'll even be started.

[@Rampart.X]

A 100 mile long shopping mall with deafening white noise and constant flickering of artificial light.

[@davidho5447]

It's been scaled back massively. I'll never get finished and will end up being rented out as a film set for cheap zombie apocalypse-type movies.

[@ecaillette]

😂, I‘d actually watch these!

[@Rampart.X]

If they had any sense they'd cut it short and turn it into a linear CBD backbone of a rectangular or circular city

[@partciudgam8478]

Like the cylindrical building in South Africa where they shot Chappie...

[@oFaisalo]

It’s on stages not scaled down, OMG can’t y’all research at least ? It’s not that hard

[@MrSimonw58]

I will never go to Saudi because of the hand and foot and tongue and genital cutting and eye taking out laws

[@derpina8330]

I agree with you, but have you seen their crime rates? 🤔

[@Jason-fm4my]

​@@derpina8330When I lived there, there was a kind of wild West feel to it. There's not a lot of crime, but also a noteable lack of regulation, so scammers are seemingly everywhere.

[@boossersgarage3239]

@@derpina8330 , they lie....

[@saysimonsaid1576]

​@@derpina8330Crime rate won't matter once the oil is gone. Their entire culture is based on the wealth gained from oil and they don't know how to survive without it.

[@Lund.J]

Law of Hammurabi

[@j.obrien4990]

Ironically the news this morning was taking about the locals being displaced by the city and contractors abandoning the project.

[@Lizardo451]

Neom has been talked about for years but no one thought anyone was stupid enough to try to build such an inane thing.

[@saint-miscreant]

the Line is a massive vanity project that will never be built and is fundamentally an unworkable city concept that’s not designed for humans. the only people benefiting from it are MBS (and his ego), and the consultants and concept artists being hired to create the fancy visualisations.

[@verttikoo2052]

Adam Something has a good take down on that project 😂 Just imagine a sandstorm and all off that glass will be sandblasted 🎉 Fantastically stupid idea 🎉

[@kaunas88]

Very well said.

[@pocobull]

These type of cities have been attempted before, and all failed. There's a reason cities are built the way they are, and there's a reason they aren't built in strainght lines, because they don't work. But besides that, virtually all of the technology that was supposed to be used in this city doesn't actually exist.

[@kickboxer8173]

not to mention , saudies have no brain power to tech their own stuff

[@paulmcmillan533]

The Saudis have announced that the line will only be 2.4 km long that's a reduction of 98 per cent. 😂

[@Sir_Godz]

barely an L

[@vincentyeo88]

That's a 15-minute city.

[@seneca983]

@@vincentyeo88 I don't agree. I it's only 2.4 km long it won't be large enough to be any kind of city (unless they make it a lot wider). It's more like a (15 min) town at that point.

[@DawnFox-kb1xq]

Not a 'line', more like a 'dash'..... but it's a start.....

[@champ8605]

Let's be real even 2.4km is too long. This is 100% not going to be finished.

[@Canoby]

Everything Kuwait and Sauid Arabia wants to create sounds dystopian and generally exploitive to anyone not already wealthy AF

[@AdamOBrien29]

Thank you Joe for not shying away from corruption

[@Indrid__Cold]

The "line" will be scaled back to "hyphen."😅😅😅

[@seneca983]

Or a "dash".

[@What_do_I_Think]

The transport system for the line was announced to be the "Hyperloop" -- that was all you need to know about the line.

[@donerskine7935]

The LINE is pure idiocy. All they will build is a 170km long ditch.

[@kurtwicklund8901]

No one expected Joe Blogs would cover Neom. I put this down to his nifty uniform and ruthless efficiency.

[@CasperChicago]

Joe I posted this before but you are miles ahead the NYTimes, Reuters or the BBC. I tune into your videos and then the NYTimes, Reuters or the BBC write an article after you. GOOD JOB 👍🏾

[@davisutton1]

If a population whose only experience is riding camels and living in a Godforsaken desert should happen upon almost inconceivable wealth how could it be expected that they would be effective stewards of such wealth? Notably, Norway has managed its oil wealth far more effectively.

[@CasperChicago]

That is the best argument I have heard about the Saudi's. But Norway is not run by a egotistical, immature, sadistic little BRAT like MSB.

[@lhaaa1059]

Racist much ?!

[@Woolymammoth-db1lt]

norway had the sea and stayed pretty connected and unified (strong community) and had robust industry before fossil fuels with hydro power, timber (very strong even in medieval times cause their fjords and timber made it very efficient before rail), fishing, shipbuilding. saudi arabia had deserts (even better as a barrier than any sea) very dry and hot with very little sedentary settlements cause of very little rainfall and moved around alot. nomadic and isolated and autocratric didnt make them get along all well with others (the middle east so many cultures and sects acatterd around it) and when an autocrat gets easy money it goes one of two ways the saudi nomadic style gave them a defferent mentality to the norwegians.

[@davisutton1]

@@lhaaa1059 No. Which part of what I said indicates that? Throughout the Gulf there are grandiose buildings and 'big' ideas that lack coherent thought. I wouldn't say it's racist to suggest a lottery winner has a poorer prospect of holding or growing their wealth than a self-made millionaire. Your thinking is not good.

[@davisutton1]

@@Woolymammoth-db1lt All you say is true and a worthwhile elaboration of my statement. Your contribution highlights my other response that racism is not necessary to explain the difference. One situation is a boost to an already successful system, the other is a boost to nothing.

[@dongeorge4037]

Isn't "central planning" just great? Jobs for everybody - until the money runs out.

[@CJFreeza]

Interestingly the line has been coming up through the algorithms over the past few days so I wondered what was going on. Your video just proved that Joe. Amazing work! Your vigilance is crucial as always 🔥

[@harryPair]

No wonder people in the Middle East are so pissed off. It's too hot and no chicks.

[@billy77511]

Lots of good looking Camels 😂

[@byrnemeister2008]

Also no jobs.

[@harryPair]

@billy77511 oh jeez lol

[@vincentyeo88]

Yes, money for nothing. But no chicks for free. Lol. 🙃🤣

[@lordrefrigeratorintercoole288]

also cant go gay if your a bi man.

[@craigrussell7542]

The Saudi military must be crapping their pants thinking about how to defend "The Line" in the world of drone strikes.

[@partciudgam8478]

The General "Hold the line!" Grunts "Aziz! Bring up sticks! This wall is about to fall!"

[@Kakker71]

The Line is the most absurd project ever started. It´s almost like they thought "We have a sh*tload of money...let's see how much we can f*ck up with it!"

[@MasticinaAkicta]

It is the same place where they want to build a fake moon to light up the city. Yup, yes... some idiot drew that and some rich prince liked it so much they might just do something that stupid.

[@nadtz]

As soon as the line was announced people with clue said that even if it could be built on time and at budget it would still be a terrible idea but building out in the desert meant there was a good chance it would not be on time and at budget, never minding the people displaced to build it and other humanitarian concerns.

[@faithrada]

Sadly, that last point does not seem to be a point of concern for the builders.

[@HarvinGwin-kr1ry]

NEOM sounds like a cruise ship in the sand 8:09

[@ecaillette]

😊 I just love Joe‘s calm perspective, just looking at the numbers, and maybe some charts, and drawing some conclusions from there.

[@ruZsiaNa-C]

Venezuela self-inflicted pain from their "leader"

[@yurinator4411]

Which they elected and keep in power.

[@ruZsiaNa-C]

@@yurinator4411 🤣🤣🤣 their election is as real as unicorn 🤣 their "leader" literally blocked opponents

[@miramuchachito296]

​@yurinator4411 at this point you must be a professional clown to tell that kind of jokes

[@dougpage2730]

Venezuela must have a terrible leader compared to the unelected Mr Bone Saw who rules as a despot over Saudi Arabia because the US has imposed sanctions against Venezuela yet remains a friend to the bloody Saudi regime.

[@jorgeluiscapiello414]

​@@yurinator4411Venezuelan here, these "leaders" are initially democratically elected but then remain in power through constitutional reforms and corruption. Happens all the time in the third world these days. Pray for us.

[@isaaner7761]

More than 200 years ago Shelley knew the result of such vanity projects: "No thing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away." Ozymandias 1819

[@rjs_698]

"And on the pedestal these words appear: 'My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look upon my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!'"

[@seneca983]

In Egypt's sandy silence, all alone, Stands a gigantic Leg, which far off throws The only shadow that the Desert knows:- "I am great OZYMANDIAS," saith the stone, "The King of Kings; this mighty City shows The wonders of my hand."- The City's gone,- Naught but the Leg remaining to disclose The site of this forgotten Babylon. We wonder - and some Hunter may express Wonder like ours, when thro' the wilderness Where London stood, holding the Wolf in chace, He meets some fragment huge, and stops to guess What powerful but unrecorded race Once dwelt in that annihilated place. - Horace Smith, "Ozymandias"

[@jordanwhitfield8429]

This is the first video of yours I have seen. It is also the most unbiased video about Saudi Arabia I have seen. It’s just the facts and no opinions, which is very hard to find now. Wow

[@applejuicecity]

Always love catching a new Joe Blogs video first thing in the morning!

[@toddgraham8653]

Mee too…! I’ve always had interest in the line concept. I personally believed it was unique and a decent idea. It would definitely centralize everything and make everything easier for the people, and business. At least there are some countries trying, and modernizing, which is good

[@SeeLasSee]

Their population has been growing so fast. I’ve long worried that they will become a major exporter of people like Pakistan.

[@faceclutch5555]

India.

[@SpringIsBACK]

No. Most Saudis don't want to work, so they have to import workers. It's kinda crazy: Wealthy ME countries don't import people from poor ME countries, they bring them in from places like Philippines. Better workers and less trouble for sure, but cultural compatibility is a problem. Europe needs people but instead of sensibly bringing in mostly westernized Asians, etc., they brought in hordes of Muslims from the ME. Huge mistake.

[@ambessaseway5594]

Fertility rate in Saudi is actually really low majority of growth comes from immigration

[@justliberty4072]

Some of us do not want to be living in any city.

[@mrcoffee70]

In 10 years time I would like to be in a cabin in the back country of Alaska... no desire to live in a futuristic city of any sort.

[@fastfreddy3103]

Another cup? ☕️

[@brostelio]

I'm with you. Hopefully at an appropriate distance from all neighbours.

[@Kodakcompactdisc]

@@brostelio50 miles is good.

[@door1479]

Tropical solitude sounds better. I have spent to many winters frozen. Cabin fever is real.

[@Kodakcompactdisc]

@@brostelio 50 miles is a good distance.

[@mrjeremydizon]

It was never a feasible project anyway. It was a fantastical and absurd concept that is tied to the Hyperloop as primary transportation which in i itself is a stupid idea. Stupid leading the stupid begets these results lol

[@chrisheath2637]

Another interesting feature of Saudi is that not only are they sitting on a LOT of OIL, they also had huge underground aquifers (water to you and me). And being that money was no object, they used that water to create the 2nd largest herd of cattle in the world ( because they prefer milk over alcohol, strange huh ?). And because Saudi is essentially desert - this required around twice the amount of water over the herds in more temperate climates ( cattle need water, and lots was needed to cool them as well)...further to this, they created giant spinning water irrigation systems - visible from space - to grow cattle fodder - that further reduced the aquifers... The result is that the well is running dry, and no amount of money can replace the aquifer water, so they are spending huge amounts on de-salinating sea water - which brings its own problems. The inevitable increase in "saltiness" of the sea water causes the delicate balance of the sea environment to go haywire, causing fish losses. And they are now also buying swathes of land in under-developed countries to replace the loss of fodder, and that causes local problems in these countries - and the story, as they say, continues... Throwing huge sums of money at these kind of projects works - until it doesn't.........

[@SpringIsBACK]

Well... You "CAN" desalinate sea water without making the return water more saline, but you have to extract the salt(s) and other minerals and that is even more expensive... Trying to put large human populations in arid areas is a fools game...

[@sudhirnaik939]

In

[@gordonbarnes8229]

Having lived & worked in Saudi for 6 years I can see how the idea of this City proves they are still immature in how Cities and the business infrastructure which their growth relies on just cannot work. The population is tribal and has a tradition of outdoor living and a love for the desert (which can be a magical environment to experience). Enough income has to be made for providing free social care for the whole population, schools/health care/ police/armed forces etc with no receipts from income tax. The country does have massive reserves of precious metals which could be mined but to my knowledge they have never pursued this potential income - far easier and cheaper to dig for oil!

[@Christiane069]

The "Line". No, No, No, I certainly don't want to live in such a place, you got to be kidding.

[@awpetersen5909]

Artificial living

[@Christiane069]

@@awpetersen5909 What a future, I can't wait!

[@OmarOsman98]

It is meant for tourism. Not for living

[@Christiane069]

@@OmarOsman98 No, is is planned for 9 millions people living there.

[@johnscovill4783]

One effect that Saudi Arabia appreciates is that decreased current production will prolong the lifetime of production.

[@davidelghammer6449]

Go! Joe! Go! Love your show!!! I check every day for a new episode.

[@truthbsaid1600]

Surprising that with highly educated people in Saudi Arabia, no one ever considered the most basic, fundamental and primeval rule of economics that applies to all levels from households to countries: don't spend money you don't have.

[@SpringIsBACK]

Well, so much for the USA...

[@truthbsaid1600]

@@SpringIsBACKSame problem in USA

[@stevev238]

Surely a square city would be much more efficient use of space than a thin, straight line?

[@kurtwicklund8901]

Correct.

[@PeakVT]

Yes, and it would better support random, everyday movements. Commuting from one end of a linear city would be hell.

[@SpringIsBACK]

Make it a cube. You will be assimilated!

[@rrg6625]

Circular is most efficient. That's why most are. Max area for min perimeter. Simple. A kine is most inefficient. So it's stupid, on a fundamental level of thinking. Kind of idea only a politician could think is a 'thing' .

[@WilhelmFreidrich]

​@@rrg6625is circular is almost as bad as a line

[@MarkvanBuskirk]

Thank you for covering this. Great analysis

[@goncaloschiappa6072]

Great video. Nice to see you diversify the topics of the channel from time to time

[@verttikoo2052]

One sandstorm and you need to change the windows 🥳 Sandblasting those ruins the view🤣

[@5anjuro]

Well. That's a first. Never heard Saudi Arabia and cash crisis in one sentence.

[@bodieboyb]

Thanks for your work Joe.

[@jameswalker7899]

Very interesting. Warmest compliments. Thank you, sir. :)

[@osterreichischerflochlandl4940]

ad 09:00 Pls do not forget to mention that the reserves of Canada and Venezuela are mainly Oil Sands where those in Venezuela are not as easy to extract (not on the surface) and process (sour) than the oil sands in Canada.

[@Pitollie]

I would not want to live in the lines. I live getting I to mature too much.

[@pupysb6267]

Venezuelan oil is thick, tar like and difficult to process.. Furthermore, few refineries are available to process this mucky oil, mostly in Texas and Louisiana. Best and cleanest oil available....Nigerian... It's almost clear from how clean (for oil) it is.

[@nerfherder4284]

Canadian sands oil is only profitable at like $80-90 per barrel

[@nicolaasstempels8207]

@@pupysb6267 Guyanian oil is of the highest grade, that's one reason Venezuela wants it.

[@Balognamanforya]

Our pm at the moment is trying to destroy our oil and gas sector, so we'll see how long that'll last.

[@lovfro]

I will posit that The Line was doomed to failure from it's inception as harebrained scheme. I mean. End-to-end travel of 170 km in 20 minutes means an average speed of 510 km/h. That is a train running without stops. But that is not really usable as public transport then, is it? You have to ad stops along the way. That would lead to time for passengers getting on and off, also there will be need for more acceleration and deceleration. So end-to-end travel in 20 minutes is impossible. This tactic of selling pipe dreams is all over the NEOM claims. Anything they claim, that can be tested as the example above, leads to the discovery that the claim is impossible. We can then only expect that the same politicians approach to truth must be present in all the other claims they have about NEOM to some degree or other. So no. The current economic situation is not what doomed NEOM. NEOM doomed NEOM.

[@seneca983]

You could theoretically have two different lines. One goes end-to-end very fast with only one or two stops in between; another (on average) slower one has more frequent stops.

[@charlysantamaria8646]

Thanks for the info much appreciated 👍

[@JanicethePotter791]

Thank you for your research and thorough analysis again.

[@zJericho101z]

Guys i have a white elephant here, who would like to buy tickets to see me paint it white?

[@joseliano325]

With so much poverty and need all over the world, wasting so much money in useless projects like these is just plain sinful. Also, only in a country ruled by a dictator you can even propose such an idea. In a democratic country the people would be protesting against the government. I hope they go bankrupt for even proposing such a ridiculous idea.

[@OmarOsman98]

It’s not wasteful or useless. NEOM is meant to grow the tourist industry.

[@torete1982]

Very informative, as always! 😊 Thank you!

[@mgw444]

Good Topic and fantastic analysis of the details! You continue to educate me. Thank you do much! Keep up the good work!

[@HANKTHEDANKEST]

I am a simple man: I see KSA doing badly, I click like.

[@thoso1973]

The whole thing was a scam; no point going into detail with their 'vision'. The realistic budget would be something like 30-50 times higher than the official budget.

[@mikki6868]

Brilliant and informative as always Joe, thank you

[@junecampsall7474]

Very informative thanks

[@Engineersoldinterstingstuff]

1500 years of cousin marriages leads to great decisions...

[@5nowChain5]

The UK should send all the muslim migrants to SA. They could be used as workers and would integrate very well in the progressive muslim state. They would contribute heavily to its consumer orientated society.

[@daveswitzerland4442]

Great Video as always Joe!

[@debbie3795]

Your videos are always informative and very interesting.

[@foobman]

This channel I follow, called Thunderfoot, did calculations and predicted a long time ago the Line would fail.

[@dougpage2730]

Saudi despots don't do math very well. Cutting oil sales and simultaneously spending money like it's going out of style is not a viable plan. Increasing oil sales will become necessary.

[@Kodakcompactdisc]

Benzema is on €2million a week.

[@richardjennison2159]

Great one Joe, very interesting.

[@barber0611]

you explained it so well Joe!

[@michelleagnew8780]

Excellent video! What an amazing city in the works there! I’d love to visit there if they ever do build it. I appreciate the work required to put videos together like this. I look forward to seeing more in future.

[@JS-bn1tz]

Very good analysis. Thank you.

[@ryanrex297]

“End of the line” I see what you did there there. Very clever.

[@user-ii5mu6jt8k]

Another outstanding report, Joe.👍👍👍

[@EddieEads]

Technology: 25th century Worldview: 7th century That's the Saudi problem

[@-.-djfjfied]

Very well articulated analysis

[@jaimegonzalez5814]

Great show

[@pomicultorul]

Great channel!

[@kamrulz659]

Very enjoyable video😊

[@yuvalru]

Very interesting!

[@caltiki3090]

Thnx JOE !!

[@trwsandford]

I saw this coming from a hundred and 10 miles away. 200 meters wide, and 500 meters tall.. pile of cash they lit on fire. Well done!

[@Joaodocaminhao0234]

Thank you

[@glennk.7348]

Always enjoy listening to Joe! 🙂

[@ernestofernandez592]

Thanks!

[@user-gq7yd4ql4b]

Excellent Joe

[@andy_s_8982]

i love it joe, thanks

[@harrisdizdarevic5797]

Good stuff 👏

[@michaellloyd4978]

When I saw the title, I thought it said "Noem" and you were going to talk about her shooting Cricket! When we got into the video, I realized it was "Neom". Both interesting and timely topics!

[@unconventionalideas5683]

Now I have to remember that Kristi Noem exists and is an actual Governor of a US State, meaning some of my countrymen and countrywomen elected a lady who shot her family puppy to position of statewide public office. That's not a happy thought.

[@stevenschwartz-vf2lg]

Timing is everything. And as the world slides into a world wide recession. And the winds of war blow in Europe and the far east, I don’t see the world rushing to invest in The Line.

[@gerryreihsen5084]

Joe, just love your videos and the personality and delivery of the presenter!

[@michaelsaad3998]

Thanks

[@Andre-ft6wx]

Thanks joe.

[@MooseBme]

It reminds me of the train scenario from "Snowpiercer." But, instead of a moving train through the snow; it's a long, imobile glass building in the desert! It would be an interesting case study of: "How long before "cabin fever" sets in!" !(: THANKS AGAIN Mr. Blogs and BEST REGARDS TO ALL ;)!