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Transportation is a key consumer of global energy supplies and will increase its share in the future, thanks to rising populations and greater demands for mobility via air, land and sea.

Globally, transportation soaks up a third of all energy supplies and is set to grow from 80% to 130% as the number of cars quadruple to nearly three billion by 2050. READ MORE HERE

Iraq has disclosed detailed information about the US$ 41 billion in revenue it received from oil and gas exports in 2009. Iraq’s disclosure of the figures follows the country’s commitment to the EITI standard, the global standard for transparency of resource revenues. The revenues are published in Iraq’s first EITI Report, which detailed production figures and revenues from the sales of oil abroad in 2009.

Clare Short, Chair of the international EITI Board welcomed the report saying, “Through the launch of its first EITI report, Iraq has taken a significant step towards transparency in its all-important oil sector. With transparency of the payments for its oil and gas, Iraq’s citizens can see how much the government receives from the country’s vast natural resources and start to ensure that Iraq’s resource wealth is properly managed. Greater transparency will help Iraq overcome some of the many challenges it is facing”.
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Mideast oil and gas developers can rest easy. ExxonMobil’s energy outlook through to 2040, predicts there is a huge role for oil and gas energy sources in the future, with alternative energies remaining on sidelines. READ MORE HERE

As the global economy lurches from one crisis to the next, we look at the prospects for the regional economies in troubling global conditions which could slash domestic growth.

Another quarter, another headache. Gulf governments have suffered a tumultuous first two quarters of the year and were hoping for some semblance of sanity in the third quarter. At the very least, regional governments were hoping that tragic developments within the Middle East had remained isolated - Syria, Yemen and Libya - leaving other countries in relative safety and peace.
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Oil fell nearly $10 in a day, bringing out oil bears with their charts to show how crude will remain weak. But is oil merely catching its breath before it scales new heights? Goldman Sachs thinks so.

Ali Al-Naimi must be feeling vindicated. The Saudi oil minister had noted a few weeks back that there was not much global demand for oil and blamed market speculation for the black stuff’s rally. Read More Here

HSBC’s energy outlook for 2050 forecasts that we may have as little as 49 years of oil left and we will have to radically alter our energy consuming ways to avoid a massive energy crunch. Read More

Here is the leaked Wikileak cable that shows a former Aramco executive saying Saudi Arabia has over-estimated its oil reserves.

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Qatar’s investment over the next five years will be a staggering $225 billion, but the country is still worried about low energy prices during the period.

As a roadmap for its social and economic aspirations, you can’t really fault Qatar’s National Development Strategy 2011-2016 report. It is inspirational, comprehensive and packed with good intentions, as all such reports should.

For an economy that is growing at a rate that would put China to shame, it’s national development strategy (NDS) is also lacking in a fair bit of pride and glory - if anything, there are parts of the report that are a bit hesitant and self-doubting. The missing vainglory is a contrast from some of the other national development strategies that one has seen over the years - and that is not a bad thing. It’s almost endearing. Read More

As Japan’s nuclear meltdown puts the brakes on yet another power source, the world is looking at ME energy to fill the gap. Luckily, there is plenty coming on line, despite the region’s shot-term problems. Read More

Oil prices are poised to hit the magical $100 per barrel once again and economists, analysts have taken out the proverbial calculators to see what it means for oil-based economies of the Middle East. Read More