OAPEC: Arab investments in energy to hit $740bn

Secretary General of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) Abbas Al-Naqi on Monday estimated the volume of investments in the Arab energy sector in 2013-17 at USD 740 billion. Two thirds of the figure will go to the oil and gas industry, he told the first session of the Second Gulf Petroleum Forum 2014. "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest Arab investor in energy with USD 165 billion, followed by the UAE - some 107 billion. "The oil refining capacity of the Arab countries will expand to 8.3 million bpd," he said, noting that the 62 refineries in the Arab countries represent nine percent of the world''''s 645 refineries with a total capacity of 88 million bpd. On the oil reserves, he said the Arab countries have 713 billion barrels or 56 percent of the world total stocks. "The Arab countries also have 54.5 trillion cubic meters of proven natural gas reserves," Al-Naqi went on. The Arab countries made headway in the oil and gas explorations in the last decade, adding 52 billion barrels to their proven oil reserves and 1.1 trillion cubic meters to the proven gas reserves, he said. "In order to meet the growing need of the global energy market the Arab countries expanded their aggregate oil output to 23 million bpd in 2013. "The figure, including 22 million bpd from the OAPEC member states, represents 30 percent of the world total," Al-Naqi pointed out, noting that the GCC countries produce approximately 19.5 million bpd. The GCC countries have 20 oil refineries with aggregate output capacity of 4.9 million bpd which represent 59 percent of the total refining capacity of the Arab countries and six percent of the world total capacity. In 2012 the Arab countries marketed 595 billion cubic meters of LNG which represent 17.2 percent of the world''''s total marketed gas, OAPEC chief added