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How much of this is just a negotiation strategy to lower the amount somebody has to pay to get the shares?

If there were WW3 including total technological collapse, then Aramco will be amongst few ones that could still supply oil easily, as other sources in shallow depths are mostly depleted, hence unreachable with a more primitive technology. Then Saudis will be the only ones that could maintain a civilization somehow resembling ours.




total technological collapse

maintain a civilization somehow resembling ours

Those two things are totally incompatible with each other. Saudi Arabia is basically sand with a bunch of oil wells scattered here and there. After any sort of technological collapse Saudi Arabia, within a few years, once again becomes a few handfuls of Bedouins wandering around on camels.

All the oil in the world won't do Saudi Arabia any good when the fancy equipment for pumping and refining oil needs repair, if the highly developed global supply chain is no longer available. Not to mention the absence of the 99% of everything else Saudi Arabia consumes that doesn't exist within its borders.

This problem isn't limited to Saudi Arabia. It exists everywhere. E.g. the 8 million people in NYC can't exist as they are without electricity. Sure the reservoirs upstate could provide water via gravity 150 years ago, but pretty much nothing else would work.


That's a good points, but....would you count on the stock ownership remaining valid in such a catastrophic scenario?


They could start by building a civilisation in the first place that doesn't treat women, gay people, minorities like second class citizens.


And people could just all get along. And everything just could be good forever and ever. This "could" you used is far into hypothetical that I can't really understand your point here.




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