Citing industry sources, Reuters reports that “at least 160 rigs are currently deployed in Saudi territory and that the world’s top oil exporter plans to raise its rig count to 210 by the end of 2014.”

Saudi Economy expert John Sfakianakis, formerly with Banque Saudi Fransi and now Chief Investment Strategist for MASIC, pens an analysis in Foreign Policy about how Saudi Arabia’s oil production will outlast the shale craze in the United States.

U.S.-based fertilizer giant Mosaic Company signed a $7 billion contract with Saudi Arabia Basic Industries (SABIC) and the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) for a 3.5 million ton phosphate operation in the Kingdom, according to a press release issued today.

U.S. oil production has increased sharply in the last five years – but that doesn’t mean Saudi Arabia has lost influence on markets, an energy panelist at a forum at Rice University in Texas said.

The dearth of water resources in the Kingdom is among its foremost challenges, with some estimates predicting full depletion by 2050 if nothing is done.