MANAMA: The countries of the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) are set to invest between $160 to $200 billion on 14 to 20 energy projects to meet their growing energy demands. A statement issued by the Emirates Energy Award said here yesterday that the combined growth of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates would remain within the world growth because of a $132 billion current account surplus and also because they were playing an increasingly major role as exporters of capital to emerging countries — estimated at $30 billion. No decline in GCC energy funds is expected following US economic recession or any fall in oil prices, the statement said.
Dr Abdullah Al-Amiri, chairman of the Emirates Energy Award, said: “The GCC countries have overcome the fears associated with energy funds or oil prices. The theory that either of these two situations would have a negative effect of the GCC countries has proved to be incorrect, as several current findings seem to indicate the contrary. The US mortgage market woes did not spread to the GCC markets, while the fuel prices are still soaring on the global markets. The high amount of liquidity injected into the region will secure the market against any slump. The foreign reserves available in the market, estimated at $455 billion in 2008 up from $365 billion in 2007, will further safeguard the market against any fall.”
In the light of these encouraging initial results and successful experiments, GCC countries can safely invest in the energy sector as there is an increasing global trend to raise investment to cover the $40 billion required in the petrochemical sector by 2010. GCC petrochemical production stood at seven percent of the world’s total production.
According to available statistics, solar energy accounts for only one percent of the world’s energy resources today, while the rise of energy prices to record highs, coupled with the lack of signs of stability, seems certain to increase investment in this sector by approximately 50 percent within two years.
The move toward sustainable and renewable energy sources is gaining momentum in GCC countries and throughout the world as countries try to secure alternative energy resources to fuel other related projects, such as building water desalination plants and supplying power to developing areas. However, progress in carrying out these projects has been hampered as fears arose regarding the risks of increased global economic instability.
