The Middle East Energy

Oman is scaling up investments in its electricity sector in a bid to boost production to meet spiralling demand. Plans are in hand to construct new power stations across the country and diversify sources of supply, though it will take some years before the Sultanate will have a comfortable cushion of excess generation capacity.

Thanks in large part to the number of hydrocarbons expansion projects that have taken place over the past few years, Qatar is expected to see sustained economic growth for the foreseeable future. According to an economic bulletin released by Saudi Arabia’s Samba Financial Group in late March, the country could see GDP growth in excess of 19% by the end of 2011. Similarly, nominal GDP is forecast to grow by 22.4%, from $122.3bn at the end of 2010 to $149.7bn by the end of 2011. These gains can be attributed primarily to the country’s rapidly expanding energy sector, which saw growth of nearly 36% in the third quarter of 2010, due to increased production and rising oil prices.

Investor confidence in Kuwait’s energy industry should get a welcome fillip from reports that the state-owned oil company is set to increase domestic oil refining capacity by more than 50% over the next five years.

In an effort to meet rising domestic demand and keep the cost of imports to a minimum, Oman is looking to boost its production of natural gas. However, the levels of investment necessary to exploit the Sultanate’s difficult-to-tap reserves, means that margins may be squeezed until gas prices rise – something analysts are already predicting.

Saudi Arabia is looking to diversify its domestic power industry away from its existing reliance on fossil fuels by investing heavily to make renewable energy the Kingdom’s central source of electricity, a move that will extend the life of its oil fields, protect export earnings and pay environmental dividends.

In an effort to satisfy a growing appetite for energy, Jordan is working to wean itself off costly imported oil and make better use of its own resources. The country hopes to attract $14bn in investments in energy infrastructure, including the construction of a nuclear reactor scheduled to come on stream in 2018, and efforts focused on developing renewables and oil shale.