Oil & Middle East Programme
Energy Subsidies in the Arab World
Published: 21st February 2012| By: Bassam Fattouh, Laura El-Katiri
This paper, authored by Bassam Fattouh and Laura El-Katiri and published by the United Nations Development Programme, explores the issue of energy subsidies in the Arab World. The authors argue that while energy subsidies may be seen as achieving social objectives (such as expanding energy access and protecting poor households’ incomes); economic objectives (such as [...]
Categories / Country and Regional Studies, Energy Policy, Oil, Oil & Middle East Programme, Working Papers
On Oil Embargos and the Myth of the Iranian Oil Weapon
Published: 10th February 2012| By: Laura El-Katiri, Bassam Fattouh
The exchange of threats between Iran and the West vis-à-vis Iranian oil exports to European and other consumer countries has received wide attention among policy makers and analysts; IMF officials predict that crude oil prices could increase by as much as 30 percent in case of a halt of Iran’s exports to OECD countries, and [...]
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Rosneft – On the Road to Global NOC Status?
Published: 19th January 2012| By: James Henderson
Since the election of Vladimir Putin as president of Russia in 2000 Rosneft has become one of the cornerstones of the strategy for the Russian state to retake control over the ‘commanding heights’ of the economy, and in particular the energy sector. However, having now established itself as a global-scale oil company, Rosneft faces a [...]
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Iran’s Energy Subsidy Reform: Impact and lessons for other energy-rich MENA countries
By: Shirin Narwani, Hakim Darbouche
Energy subsidies in Iran have caused enormous economic, fiscal and energy sector issues for decades. Faced with a fast growing energy deficit and tougher international sanctions, the current government has undertaken the bold initiative of a five-year reform plan, with the aim of eventually eliminating subsidies. The plan is, on evidence so far, succeeding in [...]
Categories / Country and Regional Studies, Current Research, Energy Economics, Energy Policy, Energy Security, Gas, Oil, Oil & Middle East Programme, Research
BP, Russian billionaires, and the Kremlin: a Power Triangle that never was
Published: 23rd November 2011| By: Shamil Midkhatovich Yenikeyeff
In this Comment, Dr Shamil Yenikeyeff analyses the reasons for the collapse of BP’s Arctic partnership with the Russian state company Rosneft. He argues that the BP–Rosneft deal was inauspicious even before it was signed due to the history of the Kremlin’s reluctance to back BP plc in its often uneasy relations with the AAR [...]
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Energy Subsidies in the Arab World
By: Laura El-Katiri, Bassam Fattouh
Energy subsidies form an important part of many governments’ policies in the developing world, the Arab world being no exception. The primary goal behind energy subsidies is often to address underlying poverty issues and to enable all citizens to access at least basic forms of energy. However, the use of energy subsidies has been criticised [...]
Categories / Country and Regional Studies, Current Research, Energy and the Environment, Energy Economics, Energy Policy, Gas, Oil, Oil & Middle East Programme, Renewable
The Implications of the Arab Uprisings for Oil and Gas Markets
Published: 13th September 2011| By: Hakim Darbouche, Bassam Fattouh
The events that took place in the Arab world in the opening months of 2011 mark a watershed in the history of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Given the importance of MENA energy supplies in global economic terms, the political unrest witnessed by the region has caused widespread fears about the prospect [...]
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Energy Poverty in the Arab World: The Case of Yemen
Published: 12th August 2011| By: Bassam Fattouh, Laura El-Katiri
While much of the emphasis of the literature on energy poverty is on the prevalence of the phenomenon in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, little has been written about energy poverty in the Arab world. Traditionally having being seen as one of the world’s most energy rich regions, the Arab world has in recent years [...]
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Interlinking the Arab Gulf: Opportunities and Challenges of GCC Electricity Market Cooperation
Published: 5th July 2011| By: Laura El-Katiri
The GCC countries have experienced tremendous economic growth over the past decade as a result of high windfall revenues from their oil and natural gas exports. At the same time, the region’s own energy consumption, including of electricity, has risen fast, leading to various capacity bottlenecks in the short term with recurrent electricity outages along [...]
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Oil Market Dynamics in Turbulent Times
Published: 16th June 2011| By: Bassam Fattouh
This presentation analyses the impact of the recent oil market disruption on oil market dynamics and price behaviour. It makes the following observations. In historical perspective, the current oil market disruption has been small so far. However, the main concern for the market is the geopolitical context in which the disruption has occurred. There are [...]
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