Arab energy consumption at 5.2% growth rate

According to the latest figures, the annual growth rate of Arab countries' energy consumption reached 5.2 percent, which is high compared to other regions of the world. The monthly publication on this topic by the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) said daily consumption in the Arab region went up from 2009's 11.6 million barrels equivalent to some 13.5 in 2012. When it comes to cause of increase, OAPEC suggested high population growth rates in some Arab countries and major urban expansion, which brings along a major shift in consumer habits and increase in use of modern means of transport and communication. Continued subsidies on petroleum products by many countries, in an attempt to help limited-means households, also promotes use of such products by both limited-income and medium-income consumers, the organization added. Global consumer trends at present mean that oil producing countries need to pump more investments into hiking output and to do more to meet high growth rates in domestic consumption. With oil and gas the key industries and income producing activities for decades in many Arab states, financing state spending in general and infrastructure development in particular, the challenge of meeting increasing domestic demand and balancing it with the need to export to yield revenue has many social as well as financial consequences. The bloc pointed out that member countries accounted for close to 90 percent of overall Arab energy consumption in 2012. This is directly related to these countries' possessing large oil and gas reserves, their constantly growing economies, and their demographic weight, as they account for 64.8 percent of the total Arab population. As to new trends, OAPEC noted the increase in gas consumption as opposed to oil consumption. In 2012, it said, daily Arab gas consumption rate was 6.75 million barrels equivalent, compared to consumption rate of 6.58 million barrels of oil in 2011. The Arab oil cartel explained this hike in dependency on gas is rooted in factors including the switch from oil to gas as fuel feed at some power and water plants in the region. It is also being used increasingly as feed material in petrochemical industry, and compressed gas is being introduced more heavily as fuel in transport. This is all added to the conventional use of gas as fuel in cement, steel, aluminum, and metals industries. The group said studies conducted by OAPEC as well as other specialists indicate great potential for hiking energy consumption efficiency in all sectors, which would have great and positive impact on Arab economies and support efforts to preserve and protect the environment. As mentioned in the same publication, the General Secretariat of OAPEC appreciates the need for members to increase their output. It meanwhile hopes for strong collaboration and coordination to counter the economic and environmental damage caused by inefficient energy consumption. The ultimate aim is to strike a balance between the utilization of nations' resources and meeting social and economic development growth requirements, OAPEC concluded. The Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) is a regional inter-governmental organization established by an agreement signed in Beirut on January 9, 1968 by Kuwait, Libyan (Kingdom of Libya at that time) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The three founding members chose the state of Kuwait for the Organizations' domicile and headquarters. Recognizing the role of Petroleum as a principal and basic source of its members' income, OAPEC is concerned with the development and prosperity of the world petroleum industry by fostering close and fruitful cooperation among its members. By 1982 the membership of the Organization increased to eleven Arab oil exporting countries namely: Algeria (1970), Bahrain (1970) (now Kingdom of Bahrain), Egypt (1973), Iraq (1972), Kuwait (1968), Libya (1968), Qatar (1970), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (1968), Syria (1972), and United Arab Emirates (1970). The eleventh member, Tunisia, had also joined the cartel in 1982, but opted to suspend membership in 1986.