DRIGGS, IDAHO – Check out this construction project…
What you’re seeing here is the giant factory currently under construction in the deserts of Saudi Arabia. It’s called the Jazan project.
It’s in a desolate corner of Saudi Arabia… 50 miles from the nearest town… surrounded by sand… tormented by dust storms… baked by some of the hottest temperatures on the planet…
It just opened for business.
What exactly is it? More below…
Rocky Mountains Winter Adventure
Greetings from our cabin in the mountains…
My family and I are a traveling family. We don’t have a home. We live out of a suitcase and roam the world, homeschooling our kids and having adventures.
We are currently having a winter adventure in the Rocky Mountains of the USA. We’ve rented an Airbnb in the beautiful Teton mountains of Wyoming, and we’re going to spend the winter getting dumped on by snow, learning to ski, and homeschooling our kids from our warm, little cabin.
Kate and the kids have never skied before. They’ve barely even seen snow before. (We come from Florida.) So it was a bit of a risk coming to live in the mountains and committing to spend an entire winter in a ski resort…
I was most concerned about Penny (8). She’s the weakest link in this family as far as learning to ski goes. She’s got very low muscle tone in her legs and she’s a naturally cautious person.
“If Penny doesn’t like skiing,” I told Kate when we arrived, “it’s going to throw a big wrench in our family ski plans.”
Here’s Penny learning to ski, day 7…
Oil’s Big Shift East
Back to the desert of Saudi Arabia…
The Jazan project is a project to build the world’s largest gas-fired power plant next to a mega oil refinery beside a monster petrochemical plant… all nestled up against an export terminal for super tankers.
When fully operational, this plant will process about 6% of Saudi Arabia’s crude oil production.
(It will turn Saudi Arabia’s heavy crude oil into environmentally friendly ultra-low sulfur diesel fuels, jet fuels, etc., which it will export.)
Why am I showing you this?
I’ll get to this in a second. Now look at this project…
This is the Al-Zour refinery in Kuwait. Like Jazan, it’s also a power plant, refinery, and port rolled into one… except this one’s even bigger than the Jazan project… by about 50%.
It’s going to be one of the largest refineries in the world when it’s complete, which should be in 2024.
And they aren’t just building refineries in the Middle East. China is getting into the refinery game in a big way, too…
China currently has at least four new mega projects under construction and many existing projects are being expanded.
According to World Oil Magazine, in 2021, China will overtake the USA as the world’s largest refiner of crude oil.
Finally, India, the world’s third largest importer of crude oil, is also ramping up refinery capacity.
India is hoping to increase the size of its refining industry by 77% by 2030. And it just announced a big project… a giant refinery and petrochemical project in the state of Maharashtra.
At an estimated cost of $60 billion, this Saudi-owned project is going to be the world’s largest and most expensive refinery when it’s completed in six years…
What’s going on? It’s simple. We’re seeing a huge trend in motion: the movement of oil refineries away from rich, Western democracies and to the Middle East, India, and China.
And it’s happening fast, accelerated by COVID-19…
In my next column, we’ll look at the reciprocal of this trend: all the refineries closing in the U.S., Europe, Australia, Singapore, and New Zealand…
And then we’ll draw comparisons to the big shift east by the global steel industry two decades ago…
– Tom Dyson
Like what you’re reading? Send your thoughts to [email protected].
FROM THE MAILBAG
Strong words from one reader after the Dyson family traveled from Idaho to Florida to celebrate Thanksgiving with Kate’s parents…
Reader comment: What are you thinking?? Do you really have to put yours and your family’s lives at risk by driving all that way for some man-made celebration? … if not from COVID-19, then from dodgy fast food, bed bugs, driver fatigue, or some other idiot on the road taking you out. It was a really dumb idea to drive all that way and back. How about a Zoom Thanksgiving. Far less taxing on the body and soul. Don’t do this again… please!
Meanwhile, another reader recommends YouTube channels that could help Dusty learn to play guitar…
Reader comment: I saw your note about the guitar and the YouTube videos. There are, of course, LOTS of videos available. Including many that will teach you just about any song you want to learn (I’ve taught both our kids to play and they tend to practice more when they’re actually reproducing recognizable songs that they like).
But if you’re ever looking for especially good YouTube teachers, there are two I like to recommend. One is a guy who calls himself “The Guitar Pilgrim.” The other is a Dutch guy named Paul Davids (actually, the “Pilgrim” guy might be Dutch, too, I’m not sure). Both are a bit more advanced. But they really break things down in a clear, easy way. They also teach not just songs, but styles of different players and – especially in Davids’ case – useful theory. And they’ve both got clear passion for playing.
I didn’t really pick up the guitar until college, but have been playing it ever since. It’s a lifetime gift, both for the player and – if you’re any good – anybody listening.
Tom’s response: Thank you for these recommendations!
And finally, one reader suggests more travel destinations… another has taken Tom’s recommendations to buy gold… and one sees the potential harms of a cashless society…
Reader comment: When your travels start up again, you might consider visiting some spots in Oregon. This weekly travelogue by Grant McOmie on Youtube highlights many of Oregon’s wonderful sights. Grant has been doing these for quite a few years so there is a lot of places highlighted. There are many on the desert and ocean regions of Oregon that are unique. Grant does a great job of educating about geology, flora, fauna, and the history of different regions. Even a place called Fossil, Oregon, where you can dig for dinosaur bones!
Reader comment: I used your recommendation for DHRC in California to turn my retirement account into 1 oz, $20 liberty coins. The oldest is from 1879, I think, and they only cost me slightly more than a generic gold coin would have! Very tickled with them. I am almost as all in on gold and silver, as you are now. Looking forward to the next year! Thank you, and keep up the good work!
Reader comment: You are correct “that we’ve become numb and distracted and we now tolerate the reduction in our civil liberties with hardly a second thought.” I almost always pay cash and I am in a very small minority. I would guess that retail cash transactions are 5-10% (at the most) in this part of Canada. Clerks are always surprised when I give them cash and have to cancel the debit transaction they assumed we would use.
It seems like people can’t wait to give up their liberty and civil rights to be “free” human beings. The majority live in cities and actually believe disarming the law-abiding citizens is a good idea. I taught my children to think independently and they do. Seems that most don’t think at all.
Tom’s note: Thanks for all the thoughtful messages. And as always, please keep your questions and comments coming at [email protected], and I’ll do my best to answer them in our Friday mailbag editions.