Publications

Saudi Electricity Demand Drops for the First Time on Record

Salaheddine Soummane

Since 1990, Saudi Arabia’s electricity consumption has risen rapidly and consistently, at an average rate of around 6% per year. This growth rate is considerably high when compared with the global average growth rate of 3% and 4.8% in developed…

Soummane, Salaheddine

Can Cooperation Enhance Natural Gas Utilization in the GCC?

Rami Shabaneh, Bertrand Rioux, Steve Griffiths

The last decade saw dramatic changes in the energy sector, including the shale oil and gas boom in the United States (U.S.), a commodity down-cycle, and heightened awareness of the global climate challenge. In response, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)…

Shabaneh, Rami

Rioux, Bertrand

Griffiths, Steve

Fiscal Multipliers for Saudi Arabia Revisited

H.E. Dr. Majid Al Moneef, Fakhri Hasanov

Fiscal policy lies at the heart of key macroeconomic and budgetary decisions and is central to understanding the dynamics of oil rich economies. Fiscal multipliers, including spending multipliers, indicate how changes to fiscal policy can stimulate economic growth, to what…

H.E. Dr. Majid Al Moneef

Hasanov, Fakhri

Electricity Sector Liberalization in Egypt: Features, Challenges and Opportunities for Market Integration

Shahid Hasan, Turki Alaqeel, Hafez El-Salmawy

KAPSARC has initiated a research project to develop insights that can facilitate the establishment of a well-functioning integrated electricity market comprising the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). It aims to assess the key issues affecting electricity market…

Hasan, Shahid

Alaqeel, Turki

Hafez El-Salmawy

Natural Gas Utilization in GCC Countries

Majed A. Al Suwailem, Abdullah Aldayel

Between 2009 and 2019, marketed gas production by Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members has grown at an average rate of 4.8% per annum, from 265 billion standard cubic meters in 2009 to 422 billion standard cubic meters (Bscm) in 2019.…

Al Suwailem, Majed A.

Aldayel, Abdullah

Supply-side Climate Policy for Crude Oil Producers

Paul Zakkour, Wolfgang Heidug

This paper considers the potential for supply-side climate policy to increase climate action, with a focus on crude oil producers and exporting countries. To date, supply-side policies have not been widely used in efforts to tackle climate change, and the…

Zakkour, Paul

Heidug, Wolfgang

On the Incremental Investment in Residential Energy Efficiency: A Saudi Perspective

Walid Matar

It has been shown in the literature that, in aggregate, actual household energy efficiency adoption is less than would be expected economically. Energy economists and policy analysts have described this phenomenon as the ‘energy efficiency gap.’ There could be myriad…

Matar, Walid

Saudi Arabia’s Gas Flaring Mitigation Experience

Majed A. Al Suwailem

Gas is envisaged as the fuel of choice in the power sector and is the ideal fuel to help transition toward clean, sustainable, and affordable energy access. As vital as gas is for electricity generation, the petrochemical industry, the transportation…

Al Suwailem, Majed A.

Regional Heterogeneous Drivers of Electricity Demand in Saudi Arabia

Jeyhun Mikayilov, Abdulelah Darandary, Ryan Alyamani, Fakhri Hasanov, Hatem Al Atawi

Aggregate residential electricity consumption in Saudi Arabia has increased rapidly over the past several decades, largely due to population increases and fast economic growth (SAMA 2019). The growth in electricity consumption has been driven, among other factors, by government-administered prices…

Mikayilov, Jeyhun

Darandary, Abdulelah

Alyamani, Ryan

Hasanov, Fakhri

Al Atawi, Hatem

Balancing Energy Security Priorities: Portfolio Optimization Approach to Oil Imports

Taylor & Francis Online

The notion of energy security in most interpretations includes the physical supply and price affordability components, making financial risks a crucial part of energy security strategies. Mainstream analysis has focussed on the notion of the physical supply. This paper introduces…

Philipp Galkin, Simona Bigerna, Carlo Andrea Bollino

Viability of Seasonal Natural Gas Storage in the Saudi Energy System

Science Direct

Walid Matar, Rami Shabaneh

Per Capita Regional Electricity Consumption in the Saudi Housing Sector

Mohammad Aldubyan, Ryan Alyamani

Aggregate residential electricity consumption data for Saudi Arabia conceals regional disparities. Although electricity prices are unified across the country, electricity consumption patterns can be driven by regional factors such as wealth, population size, and weather conditions, among others.

Aldubyan, Mohammad

Alyamani, Ryan

GCC Residential Electricity Tariffs

Abeer AlGhamdi

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have raised their domestic energy prices in recent years in a bid to increase energy efficiency, rationalize government spending and balance their budgets. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have taken bold steps to…

AlGhamdi, Abeer

The Impact of the US-China Trade Dispute on the GCC

Dongmei Chen

The trade dispute between the United States (U.S.) and China has escalated since March 2018. On March 22, 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a memorandum directing the U.S. government’s response to the investigation on China’s economic activities, trade policies and practices…

Chen, Dongmei

Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, Report of the TEAP, Volume 2 Decision XXXI/7 – Continued Provision of Information on Energy-Efficient and Low Global Warming Potential Technologies

Thamir Al Shehri, UNEP TEAP, EE Task Force

In the context of accelerating climate change, cooling demand is also increasing rapidly. If unmanaged, this will result in a vicious circle, with increasing global warming through greater energy consumption combined with the use of higher GWP refrigerants. Addressing access…

Al Shehri, Thamir

UNEP TEAP

EE Task Force

Understanding the Evolution of the Impact and Cost-Effectiveness of Electric Vehicle Subsidies

Tamara Sheldon, Omar Al Harbi, Rubal Dua

Our previous research found that promoting plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) adoption through financial subsidies is expensive. In this commentary, we explore how the cost-effectiveness of the PEV subsidy program has evolved over time. To understand this evolution, we developed vehicle…

Sheldon, Tamara

Omar Al Harbi

Dua, Rubal

Gasoline Demand in Saudi Arabia: Are The Price and Income Elasticities Constant?

Taylor & Francis

Jeyhun Mikayilov, Fred Joutz, Fakhri Hasanov

What Happened to Residential Electricity Consumption in Saudi Arabia Between 2015 and 2018?

Mohammad Aldubyan, Anwar Gasim

Between 2007 and 2018, residential electricity consumption in Saudi Arabia increased by 45%, from around 89 terawatthours (TWh) to 130 TWh (SAMA 2019). Population and gross domestic product (GDP) are two key factors that influence residential electricity consumption.

Aldubyan, Mohammad

Gasim, Anwar

The FDI-CO2 Nexus From The Sustainable Development Perspective: The Case of Azerbaijan

Taylor and Francis Online

The current study explores the effect of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on CO2 emissions in Azerbaijan utilizing time series data spanning from 1996 to 2013. The structural time series modeling (STSM) approach is employed in empirical estimations. The STSM framework allows…

Shahriyar Mukhtarov, Shahriyar Aliyev, Jeyhun Mikayilov, Altay Ismayilov, Anar Rzayev

The Impact of Restricted Mobility Due to COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia

Alma Alhussaini, Nourah Al Hosain

Seven months since the first COVID-19 case was identified in Wuhan, China, the contagious and vastly transmissive virus has continued to spread and grow into a global pandemic affecting more than 20 million people. When the World Health Organization (WHO)…

Alma Alhussaini

Al Hosain, Nourah