The Shoura Council yesterday stressed the need to cut down on local consumption of petroleum, which has reached more than two million barrels per day, in order to preserve the strategic mineral. “The focus should be on utilizing raw minerals available in the Kingdom for industrialization purpose rather than exporting them,” the Shoura said while discussing the Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ministry’s annual report. “It will add value to such exports and help the Kingdom gain greater expertise in mineral industries,” the Shoura said. The body urged the government to allocate more funds to carry out the ministry’s projects to strengthen the economy. From : Arabnews