Why Does Saudi Arabia Fear the United States?

This segment is from Tuesday's edition of "Digging for Value", in which sector analysts Joel South and Taylor Muckerman discuss energy & materials news with host Alison Southwick. The twice-weekly show can be viewed on Tuesdays & Thursdays. It can also be found on Twitter, along with our extended coverage of the energy & materials sectors @TMFEnergy.

Earlier this year, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal ended the guessing game as to whether or not OPEC's leading oil producing state feared that United States oil production could harm Saudi Arabia's economy. News flash...it can. To help assuage these fears, Saudi Aramco, the nation's state run oil company, has put the energy industry on notice. It is planning "massive" spending to target multiple areas of growth within the country, and that should benefit equipment and service providers that have already seen action within the country.

Given the company's current $40 billion capital expenditure plan, even higher spending should be a boon for the likes of Halliburton and Schlumberger which have been involved in both on- and off-shore oil and natural gas drilling in Saudi Arabia.

Stick with the oil and gas services industry for our Top Stock of 2013

The Motley Fool's chief investment officer has selected his No. 1 stock for this year. Find out which stock it is in the special free report: "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2013." Just click here to access the report and find out the name of this under-the-radar company.

The article Why Does Saudi Arabia Fear the United States? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Joel South owns shares of Schlumberger. Taylor Muckerman owns shares of Halliburton. The Motley Fool recommends Halliburton. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.