Arab investments in energy plunge

Riyadh: Investments in the Arab energy sector, especially in the oil industry in the Gulf, have undergone a major decline due to the global financial crisis, which could endanger the future of the industry, according to a survey conducted by an Arab oil investment firm.

“The future of investments in the Arab energy sector would face a number of potential challenges over the coming five years. The most important among them is a fall of 19 per cent in the projected volume of investments in the energy sector, mainly in the oil sector of the Gulf region, from $650 billion to $450 billion over the period between 2009 and 2013,” the report said.


The annual review was compiled by the Arab Petroleum Investment Corporation (Apicorp), an investment arm of the governments of the ten member states of the Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (Oapec).

The survey report, a copy of which was obtained by Gulf News, showed that the Gulf states would face special challenges as most of them are experiencing falling in gas supplies.

The report noted that investments in the Arab energy sector would not reach the predicted $650 billion.

Gulf News