Working Papers
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
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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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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The Oil Trading Markets, 2003-2010: Analysis of market behaviour and possible policy responses
Published: 11th April 2011| By: Adair Turner, Jon Farrimond, Jonathan Hill
In this working paper, Adair Turner et al. consider price movements in the oil trading markets between 2003 and 2010, and provide an analysis of factors which potentially explain the significant trends in this period. The authors also discuss the impact of different forms of oil price volatility and propose the type that matters most [...]
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The Strategic Implications of Russia’s Eastern Oil Resources
Published: 5th April 2011| By: James Henderson
Russian oil exports have historically been focused on western markets but the rapid growth of the Asia-Pacific economies over the past two decades has led to a re-focusing of Russia’s strategic and energy interests. The oil and gas resources of East Siberia and the Far East of Russia have long been known about and a [...]
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An Anatomy of the Crude Oil Pricing System
Published: 14th February 2011| By: Bassam Fattouh
The main purpose of this report is to analyse the main features of the current crude oil pricing system; to describe the structure of the main benchmarks currently used namely Brent West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Dubai-Oman; to clearly identify the various financial layers that have emerged around these physical benchmarks; to analyse the links [...]
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Oil Market Dynamics through the Lens of the 2002-2009 Price Cycle
Published: 1st January 2010| By: Bassam Fattouh
During the period 2002 to 2008, the oil market experienced a sustained increase in prices with the annual average price rising year-on-year for seven consecutive years. This boom, however, ended with a spectacular collapse towards the end of 2008. These sharp price movements captured public and political attention and raised concerns within both major consumers [...]
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Basis Variation and the Role of Inventories: Evidence from the Crude Oil Market
Published: 1st January 2009| By: Bassam Fattouh
Understanding the variation in the spread between the futures price and the spot price (known as the basis) is important for efficient hedging and for explaining the dynamics of commodity spot prices. Classical studies based on the theory of storage explain the variation in the basis in terms of changes in the fundamentals of supply [...]
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