Gulf oil producers are facing challenges in curbing soaring energy consumption to protect their environment although they are in a better position than other regional countries to achieve that goal, according to an Arab energy analyst.

 

All Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have clean energy plans or targets to achieve clean energy and several impressive steps have been taken toward conservation in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar, said Waleed Khaddouri, a former information director at the Kuwaiti-based Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (Oapec).

 

Citing Oapec figures, Khaddouri said energy demand in the Arab World grew by around 5.2 per cent to 13.5 million barrels per day in 2012 from 11.6 million bpd in 2009, one of the highest growth rates in the world.

 

The consumption of natural gas in 2012 reached 6.75 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, compared to 6.58 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2011, he said.

 

At the regional level, higher consumption rate has raised prospects of some Arab countries making changes to their energy mix, notably in power generation to procure higher revenues for their budgets, he added.

 

Khaddouri said that at the global level, there is interest in looking into the export capacity of Arab countries in the future.

 

In this respect, he cited a recent international report which sheds light on concerns over the alarming levels of consumption of energy in Arab countries.

 

He said that the first paragraph explains that the wastage of natural resources in the Gulf is exposing its economic resilience to shocks and increased security risks.

 

The report added that the six GCC countries now consume more energy than the whole of Africa yet they have just a fifth of that continent’s population.