The Oil and the Middle East Programme of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies was established in 2009. It is dedicated to the advanced study of contemporary oil markets, production, consumption and policy. With a historical focus on the resource-rich economies of the Middle East, research on the Programme has expanded to include major non-OPEC producing regions such as North America and Russia, and emerging energy markets such as China and India.
This theme encompasses the study of oil price cycles, evolution of pricing benchmarks, behaviour of oil market participants, the impact of new supply sources on market dynamics, producer-consumer relations, and international oil and product trade flows.
Research under this stream relates to the economic prospects for conventional and unconventional production in the world’s major producing economies as well as newly emerging provinces, and includes the Middle East, Africa, North America and Russia. It covers topics such as the evolution of fiscal regimes.
The programme’s third main research stream focuses on emerging centres of energy demand outside traditional OECD energy consumers. Research under this stream analyses demand and supply patterns in emerging energy markets, including Russia, India, China, Latin America and Africa.
The programme’s fourth key area of research concentrates on the management of natural resource wealth within resource-rich economies, including resource-based development strategies and economic growth, distribution of natural resource rents, challenges related to domestic demand growth, diversification, and the deployment of renewables.
Research is disseminated via a dedicated research paper series, short energy comments and contributions to academic journals and specialised publications, in addition to a book series published by Oxford University Press. Members of programme staff have also been involved in a range of international collaborative publications, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the International Energy Forum (IEF). The Programme’s research group is composed of core staff, and draws on a network of external contributors from a wide range of disciplinary and professional backgrounds.
This paper is one of the first attempts to delineate the contours of emerging GCC–East Asia relations in the fields of nuclear and renewable energy. On one hand, the GCC countries have been seeking technology from across the world to develop the foundation of their nuclear and renewable energy industries. East Asian countries, on the other […]
Analysis of oil price shocks using fundamental measures has for years puzzled researchers. Recent theoretical and empirical work has made considerable improvements on how to model the global oil market. Yet, many studies document a decrease in the explanatory ability of the supply side of the market, as there appears little evidence that oil supply […]
Structural reforms outlined in Vision 2030 are much needed to shift the economy to a more sustainable path and even if only a small part of Vision 2030 is being implemented, the Saudi economy will look very different in 2030 than it does now. The key question is whether these changes will have a substantial […]
Ethiopia has emerged to become one of the economic powerhouses in Africa with overall growth rates averaging around ten per cent in the past decade. As a growing political, economic, and transportation hub, it is rivalling neighbouring Kenya in Eastern Africa and provides investors on the Horn of Africa with a more stable business climate […]
Since mid-2014, Kuwait has experienced a substantial drop in its oil export price and, consequently, government revenues, which caused adverse impacts on its macroeconomic stability, fiscal position, and overall economic performance. Against this backdrop, cutting energy subsidies has become a top priority for the Kuwaiti government with many policy makers promising energy pricing reform as a […]
Angolan oil production hit a peak of 2 million b/d in 2010 and averages around 1.85 million b/d since 2012, allowing the country to vie with Nigeria to be Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest crude producer. Sonangol is currently arguably one of the most powerful national oil companies on the continent, with regular access to the international […]
We are interested in hearing from students and researchers working on oil and the Middle East academically worldwide. For information about the programme and questions, please email;
The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES) invites applications for Short-Term Visiting Research Fellowships to work on self-directed studies on the energy policy, energy economics and the political economy of energy in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. The Fellowship aims to enable academics, researchers and practitioners to spend a period of time conducting specific research at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. The appointment is for a period of up to six months during which time a pre-agreed project will be completed by the Visiting Research Fellow. For further details please click the following link; Visiting Research Fellow GCC Energy – further particulars
Azerbaijan gas supply squeeze will last to 2021. Carnegie Europe cites OIES research @Tom_deWaal https://t.co/MnDudjpxXM
September 29th
New publication: European gas grid through the eye of the TIGER: investigating bottlenecks in pipeline flows by https://t.co/izn9ILrLDP
September 26th
B. Fattouh, All producers have a strong incentive to cooperate as low oil prices take a toll on their finances - https://t.co/VLTMNJWR4I
September 24th
