It has been 50 years since Dubai first struck oil in the Fateh field, but in 2016 the emirate’s determination to ensure it did not become dependent on petroleum wealth is paying dividends. Although the impact on its neighbours of lower global oil prices may have an indirect impact on Dubai’s fortunes in the years to come, in the immediate future its energy policies revolve around reducing...
Energy
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The emirate of Dubai, by virtue of being less generously endowed with hydrocarbons than its regional neighbours, has worked hard over the past several decades to develop a wider, more diversified economic bedrock to power growth. As a result the emirate has several sectors whose growth is not wholly contingent on hydrocarbons revenues, and which continue to prosper in the current environment.
A founding member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Kuwait and other members together hold over 80% of the world’s proven oil reserves, of which Kuwait has 101.5bn barrels, or 6%. After the Second World War its role in newly global energy markets gradually increased, with production growing to 1m by 1955. Following independence in 1961, the country spent two decades...
The fall in oil prices led to significantly reduced government revenues for Kuwait in 2015. Despite this the country’s 2016 spending remained largely in line with previous years as the government opted to draw on its considerable financial buffers to help make up for budgetary shortfalls.
During the 1970s Nigeria had a prosperous, export-orientated mining industry. Before the discovery of oil, the West African nation had developed strong production operations for coal, tin and columbite. The discovery of hydrocarbons eclipsed these activities and relegated mining to an economic footnote. However, with the recent decline in the global price of oil and reductions in production...
As Africa’s largest oil producer, Nigeria’s energy sector accounts for 90% of exports and at least 50% of government revenues. The country is second only to Libya on the continent in the size of its reserves, and onshore fields have been productive for decades. Offshore deposits are a frontier that has been massively underexplored, and in recent years international oil companies have started...