Saudi Arabia Pays $12.1 per MMBtu for Industrial Energy, the Cheapest of 33 Economies
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — September 3, 2026 — Saudi industry pays $12.1 per MMBtu for energy, the cheapest price of the 33 economies compared in Intratec's Industry Economics & Competitiveness 2025 Annual Review, published today. The average across the 33 is $24.0 per MMBtu, and the United Kingdom, the most expensive, pays $42.0 — more than three times what Saudi plants pay.
The review compares 33 economies on the same basis across 14 pillars — among them manufacturing and construction labor costs, industrial energy prices, taxation and market access — with findings drawn across 7 industries.
Cheap energy, more than anything else, is why Saudi Arabia ranks 4th of 33 overall, the same place it held last year. The rest of the cost base is cheap too. Manufacturing labor costs $4.0 an hour, the sixth-cheapest wage as paid and the second-best value for labor of the 33 once output per worker is counted. Building a plant costs 0.92 times the US price, and employers pay a moderate 15% charge on wages. Saudi Arabia also ranks 3rd of 33 for its macroeconomic environment and 3rd for its processing margin — the gap between what raw materials cost and what the product sells for — while its home market and its industrial output each rank 6th.
"Saudi Arabia buys the cheapest energy of the 33 countries we track — $12.1 per MMBtu, and it has held first place for eleven years running. Only Indonesia gives better value for manufacturing labor. For a company choosing where to build, 4th of 33 is not an oil story; it is arithmetic."
— Bruno Maia, Lead Analyst, Industry Economics & Competitiveness
What holds Saudi Arabia back is not the cost of making things. It is the cost of selling them abroad. Freight ranks 28th of 33, access to foreign markets 28th and logistics 21st. The hard part is not making the product; it is getting that product to market.
The table around it barely moved. China closed 2025 on top for an eleventh straight year, and the top five — China, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Thailand — held their exact 2024 positions. Movement began at 6th, where Singapore and the Philippines traded places.
The Industry Economics & Competitiveness 2025 Annual Review is free to read, and its methodology is open.
About Intratec Solutions
Intratec Solutions — Independent Commodity, Energy & Industrial Intelligence. In operation since 2002, Intratec turns complex commodity and industrial data into clear, comparable intelligence. Its AI-enabled products cover prices, market dynamics, production economics, and the broader conditions that shape competitiveness. More at intratec.us.
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