Oxford Energy Podcast – The Future of Gas in the Gulf: Continuity and Change

Over the next decade and up to 2030, the largest increase in natural gas supply and demand, after China, is projected to take place in the Gulf. This will be very important regionally and globally. In this podcast David Ledesma interviews Mostefa Ouki, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute, to discuss the main drivers of this significant gas supply and demand growth; the internal and external challenges it poses; and, the implications for future regional and global gas balance developments.

The podcast highlights also the adverse impact of subsidized domestic gas prices on the sustainable development of new sources of gas supplies; it also reviews the degree of progress made in implementing price reforms and the phasing out of subsidies. A focus on the impact of Gulf politics and an increasing LNG import capacity in the Gulf shows that prospects for the expansion of intra-Gulf gas trade remain extremely limited. Efforts towards an energy transition with a diversified energy mix have already been initiated and are progressing in some key Gulf countries. In the future, the Gulf’s energy scene is unlikely to continue to be largely dominated by natural gas. However, gas will account for a relatively large share of the Gulf’s evolving energy mix.

By: OIES