Mena energy outlay nears $1t

dubai — Despite uncertainties that cloud the investment outlook, total energy investments in the Middle East and North Africa are getting closer to the $1 trillion mark over the next five years, Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp) said.

According to the latest edition of the Mena Energy Investments Outlook published by the multilateral development bank, the Mena region has a total energy investments of up to $960 billion across a number of critical projects that are committed and planned.

Overall, $337 billion has already been committed to projects under execution while an additional $622 billion worth of development is planned over the next five years, analysts at Apicorp said.

Leading the investment drive will be Saudi Arabia, which along with the rest of the GCC will invest across the energy value chain. Iraq and Iran will play catch up and are determined to push their ambitious oil and gas plans with investments in Iran starting to flow back after years of sanctions, but will face many aboveground challenges, said the report.

In the UAE, planned investment in energy projects is estimated at $51 billion, of which $18 billion is at the execution phase. The Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Petroleum Operations consortium — which accounts for more than half of the UAE’s oil output — will drive up upstream investment.

Apicorp’s latest estimate of the region’s total committed and planned investments is up seven per cent over its forecast of $900 billion last year.

“Having recently witnessed one of the biggest drops in history, investments in oil and gas are still struggling to recover on a global level. However, there are clear signs for an upturn, and we have found that energy investments in the Mena region over a five-year period are ahead of the trend,” said Dr Raed Al Rayes,

We have found that energy investments in the Mena region over a 5-year period are ahead of the trend Dr Raed Al Rayes, deputy CEO and GM of Apicorp