Saudi royals and senior officials from key ministries broadly support a hike in domestic energy prices, but concern over the potential for social backlash was stalling initiatives even before unrest rocked the Mideast earlier this year, classified US cables released by activist website WikiLeaks reveal. For years, state Saudi Aramco has wanted to increase the heavily discounted fixed prices at which it sells oil and gas into the local market, arguing that the current system - particularly the 750 per million Btu standard for gas - encourages waste and fails to cover full development costs.
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