Oxford Energy Podcast – Is there hope for improved intra-MENA gas trade?
Over the last three decades several studies were conducted on the elusive development of regional or sub-regional natural gas networks to boost natural gas exchanges within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. However, due to commercial and non-commercial factors, this regional or sub-regional trade remains quite limited. In this podcast David Ledesma interviews Mostefa Ouki, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute, to discuss whether the current global multiple crisis situation (collapse of oil and gas prices and Covid-19 pandemic) could result in an improvement of intra-MENA gas trade.
The podcast focuses on the following five key aspects that affect this trade: resilience or non-resilience of MENA’s natural gas demand to the adverse impact of this multiple crisis environment; main sources of gas supply within the MENA region that could drive a potential gas trade expansion; current gas export prices and prevailing domestic natural gas prices in MENA markets; availability of regional gas import infrastructure; and, finally, it considers whether there is enough political will to overcome political tensions and rivalries in the MENA region to allow for improved intra-MENA gas trade.
