Investing In the Future of Energy » Middle East

To Preserve Future Oil Wealth, Saudi Arabian King Orders Halt to Oil Exploration

globalfundexchange — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 19:05:12 +0000

The official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported that King Abdullah has ordered a halt to new oil exploration to preserve the Kingdom’s vast hydrocarbon resources.

“I told them the Cabinet that I have ordered a halt to all oil explorations so part of this wealth is left for our sons and successors,” King Abdullah told Saudi scholars studying in Washington. However, a senior oil ministry official told Zawya Dow Jones that the King’s words should not be interpreted as a full-fledged ban, but rather as a warning that future explorations should be carried out mindfully with an eye towards future generations.

Saudi Arabia possesses the world’s largest recoverable oil resources with 260.1 billion barrels at the end of 2009. It is the largest member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and recently announced the discovery of a new oil field and a non-associated gas field to add it its substantial holdings. Saudi Arabia pumped an average of 8.26 million barrels a day in June 2010, about 209,000 barrels above its target.

New Discoveries Could Turn Afghanistan into the “Saudi Arabia of Lithium”

globalfundexchange — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 15:05:08 +0000

In a remarkable new discovery, a small team of U.S. Pentagon officials and American geologists have found massive reserves of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and other essential metals like lithium in Afghanistan. All together, these mineral deposits could be worth nearly $1 trillion dollars, and could transform Afghanistan into a preeminent mining center, attracting investors from all over the world.

The iron and copper discoveries that have been made so far are substantial enough to turn Afghanistan into one of the world’s major producers of both valuable substances.

In addition, geologists believe dry salt lakes in western Afghanistan may contain lithium deposits large enough to rival those of Bolivia, which possesses the world’s largest known reserves. An internal Pentagon memo says with these discoveries, Afghanistan could turn into the “Saudi Arabia of lithium.” Lithium is an essential element used widely in high-tech production; a necessity for computer chips to batteries to wind turbine components.

Although he concedes that developing these reserves will take time and money, General David H. Petraeus, commander of the United States Central Command, says there is “stunning potential here” and that this discovery has the potential to transform the Afghan economy, which thus far has centered around opium production and the drug trade.

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Masdar Awards Contract for World’s Largest CSP Solar Plant

globalfundexchange — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 20:26:05 +0000

Oil and gas major Total and Spain-based solar company Abengoa Solar have been appointed to construct the largest concentrating solar power (CSP) plant in the world in Masdar, the carbon-zero city and renewable energy initiative of Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi aims to achieve 7% renewable energy generation by 2020.

Called “Shams 1,” this planned CSP plant will extend over an area of 2.5 square km and have a generation capacity of approximately 100MW. Once completed, it will be the first of its kind in the Middle East region, and the first CSP plant to be registered with the United Nation’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). This registration will make Shams 1 eligible for carbon credits.

“This project, which will be the first utility-scale, commercial solar power project in the UAE, represents the translation into reality of the vision the Abu Dhabi leadership had for renewable energy in the Emirate,” said Dr. Sultan Al-Jaber, CEO of Masdar. Looking ahead, Abengoa Solar’s director of international development Michael Geyer believes this project is only the beginning. “The Middle East,” he said, “is a region that offers both an unlimited solar resource and infinite site locations for implementation of solar plants in its deserts.”

Saudi Arabia Targeting 10% Renewables by 2020

globalfundexchange — Mon, 24 May 2010 21:03:38 +0000

With domestic energy demand expected to grow almost 250% by 2028, Saudi Arabia must plan strategically to meet its future needs. The desert kingdom is looking to renewable energy – specifically solar – to play a bigger role in its domestic energy mix. Saudi Arabia is aiming generate between 10-20% of its energy from renewables by 2020.

In a recent statement, Saudi Aramco CEO Khalid A. Al-Falih warned “if no efficiency improvements are achieved, and the business is as usual, the oil availability for exports is likely to decline to less than seven million barrels per day by 2028, a fall of three million barrels per day while the global demand for our oil continues to rise.”

The Kingdom is planning to invest nearly $80 billion to boost its power supply to 60,000MW, with solar energy likely to be the largest new contributor. By 2020, solar technology could satisfy up to 5GW of Saudi Arabia’s total energy demand.

Saudi Arabia is reportedly in talks with Abu Dhabi’s carbon-free Masdar City initiative regarding a possible future collaboration.

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Saudi Aramco Sets Sights on Solar

globalfundexchange — Mon, 10 May 2010 20:59:20 +0000

At first glance, Saudi Arabia may seem an unlikely supporter of renewable energy, considering the vast oil resources under its control. On the contrary, Saudi Arabia is looking to take advantage of its other prolific resource – sunlight – with new solar power projects designed to keep the country competitive as renewables increasingly play a role in the overall energy mix.

Mohammed Y. Al-Qahtani, executive director of petroleum engineering and development at Aramco believes “renewables will have an important place in the total energy equation.” Saudi Arabia is looking to use its substantial solar resources as a substitute for oil to generate power domestically as well as to power desalination plants. Although solar is currently more a more expensive means of power generation than oil or gas, Al-Qahtani expects this will shift over time.

The Kingdom recently invested in one of the world’s largest solar-heated complexes at a school in the northwestern part of the country, and is considering participating in the Desertec Initiative which would transmit electricity from North Africa and Middle Eastern solar power plants to Europe.

Masdar Embarks on Middle East’s 1st Geothermal Endeavor

globalfundexchange — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 19:05:38 +0000

Abu Dhabi-based Masdar has begun drilling on what will be the first geothermal project in the Middle East region.

Masdar, which was founded in 2006 to advance research, development and commercialization of renewable energy and clean technologies, has employed an Australian company to do preliminary drilling for subterranean geothermal energy sources such as steam or hot water. Two wells have been drilled so far, with potentially more to come.

Masdar reportedly is planning to invest around $11billion into this venture, and aims to produce 5MW of power to power the air conditioning systems in MaAbu-sdar City. Masdar City is the world’s first carbon-neutral zero waste city, and is the global headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

OPEC Steadies Output Targets and Predicts Rise in Global Demand

globalfundexchange — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:36:43 +0000

Anticipating a growth in global oil demand, OPEC leaders agreed to keep production levels stable at 24.84 million barrels per day (bpd), even though many member nations such as Saudi Arabia have been consistently overreaching those targets.

“Good demand, reliable supply, beautiful prices – we are very happy,” remarked Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi, who expects global demand to pick up by “about a million barrels” per day in the latter half of the year, largely due to rapid growth from Asia.

Even though the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts China’s economy will expand by 10% this year, the nation’s rising inflation may prompt new actions to limit credit that may also negatively impact the oil market. OPEC President Germanico Pinto addressed this point in a speech delivered before the meeting, admitting “there is still a long way to go before we can feel at ease with the situation.”

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“World Will Depend on Oil for Decades to Come”: Saudi Aramco Chief

globalfundexchange — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:58:51 +0000

Under the leadership of Chief Executive Khalid Al-Falih, Saudi Arabia’s gigantic national oil company Saudi Aramco is planning a $90 billion expansion in new oil and gas projects over the next five years.

Saudi Aramco is investing $10 billion into the Manifa field, which will involved the construction of 27 islands in a section of the Arabian Gulf. The increased output from this massive reserve will offset the declining production in the aging Ghawar field.

At one point Ghawar, which is the largest oilfield ever discovered, had a production capacity of over 5 million bpd, however in recent years Saudi Aramco has had to inject the field with millions of barrels of water to extract the oil. Al-Falih denies accusations that Ghawar has reached its peak, saying that the giant field “still has recoverable reserves equivalent to 55 billion barrels.”

China’s growing influence was a major point of discussion for the Al-Falih, who mentioned that over the past few months more Saudi oil was shipped to China than to the United States. ”The U.S. has plateaued or certainly will not be growing at the same rate. But the U.S. will remain the largest market for oil for decades to come,” he predicted.

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UAE power demand seen tripling by 2020 – going nuclear – by Anric Blatt

anric — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:44:39 +0000

Energy consumption from the developing world is to overtake that of the developed economies by 2015 – some countries are addressing it, some are still in denial. The article below is just a taste of things to come and illustrates how even the oil producing UAE is aware of these issues.

The UAE signed a deal in December 2009 with a Korean consortium to build four nuclear power reactors in the UAE, with the first scheduled to be operational in 2017.
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Electricity demand is likely to triple in the UAE by 2020 and nuclear energy will play a key role in meeting future needs, a top official has said.

UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said the country’s interest in developing nuclear energy was “motivated by the need to develop additional sources of electricity to meet future demand projections and to ensure the continued rapid development of its economy”.

“Analysis conducted by official UAE entities has concluded that national annual peak demand for electricity is likely to triple by 2020, reflecting a cumulative annual growth rate of roughly 9 percent,” he said in comments published by news agency WAM.

He added: “In evaluating different options to meet this demand, nuclear energy emerged as a proven, environmentally promising and commercially competitive option which could make a significant contribution to the UAE’s economy and future energy security.”

China and India Join Global Climate Accord

globalfundexchange — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:08:41 +0000

China and India have formally agreed to ratify the Copenhagen Accord, the global climate agreement which stemmed from last year’s U.N. climate change convention in Copenhagen.

Over 100 countries have already approved the Accord, which aims to limit the increase in global temperatures to no more than 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, above pre-industrial levels. The Accord also calls for spending on the scale of $100 billion a year to assist emerging countries in making adaptations to climate change.

China and India are two of the world’s fastest growing economies, and in recent years their rates of energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions have skyrocketed. By joining the Accord, China and India have added legitimacy to the treaty and have demonstrated to the rest of the world that they are serious about addressing these important climate issues.

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