As the sole oil producer within the world’s most oil-rich nation, the scale of its assets and operations is matched only by the brute force of its influence in the global oil markets.

The company contributes around 12m barrels a day to the global market, roughly one in every nine barrels of the world’s oil supply.

It also maintains the world’s largest spare crude oil production capacity, which – in theory – could single-handedly stabilise the global oil market in times of supply disruption.

Putting a price tag on what is arguably the world’s most important company is a question global investors will soon be pushed to answer.

If the estimated value given in interviews by Saudi deputy crown prince Mohammad bin Salman is to be believed, the stock market debut will create an oil giant which would easily trounce its next largest rival, Exxon Mobil, which stands at just over $350bn. In fact, the market capitalisation would still dwarf Exxon, Apple, Berkshire Hathaway and Google combined.