Publications

Using Satellite Technology to Measure Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Saudi Arabia

Anwar Gasim, Walid Matar, Abdelrahman Muhsen

Measuring and monitoring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are crucial to address climate change and fulfill Paris Agreement objectives. This paper explores the potential of satellite technology in measuring and tracking CH4, CO2, and N2O emissions in Saudi Arabia, collaborating with…

Gasim, Anwar

Matar, Walid

Muhsen, Abdelrahman

Energy Policy Pathways to Inform Climate Policy in Saudi Arabia

Walid Matar, Noura Mansouri, Evar Umeozor

Saudi Arabia has announced plans to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 278 million tons of CO2 equivalent (CO2e). In this regard, this paper contributes a modeling view of the climate-related effects of various energy policies on the Saudi energy…

Matar, Walid

Mansouri, Noura

Umeozor, Evar

A Decomposition Approach to Energy Policy Analysis

Walid Matar

Index decomposition analysis (IDA) has been used to study energy use movements since the 1980s. Methods at that time consisted primarily of multiplying factors that ultimately yielded the aggregate quantity, such as energy use. IDA is a straightforward way for…

Matar, Walid

Modeling the Distribution and Transshipment of Refined Oil Products

Walid Matar

KAPSARC has developed an optimization model to characterize the distribution of oil products after the refining stage. The model ensures that the demand for any group of refined oil products is simultaneously met while minimizing the social costs associated with…

Matar, Walid

Real Gross Domestic Income for Saudi Arabia From 1986 to 2021

Walid Matar

A country’s national income is defined as the total market value of its output. The most used measure for national income is gross domestic product (GDP). One way to estimate GDP for a country is to sum its government consumption,…

Matar, Walid

Alternative Fuels for Saudi Cement Manufacturing with Time-varying Carbon Pricing

Walid Matar, Doaa Filali

After cement production in Saudi Arabia surged in the first half of the 2010s due to the country’s rapid economic development, it has slowed measurably in recent years as economic growth has declined. This is shown in Figure 1, along…

Matar, Walid

Doaa Filali

Revisiting Energy Subsidy Calculations: A Focus on Saudi Arabia

IAEE

Walid Matar, Anwar Gasim

How Would Real-time Electricity Pricing Affect the Saudi Power Sector in the Long-run?

Science Direct

Walid Matar

Long-run Effects of Real-time Electricity Pricing in the Saudi Power Sector

Walid Matar

This study explores the potential effects of real-time electricity pricing on the operations of Saudi Arabia’s power generation sector. The Kingdom currently sets fuel prices for power utilities at levels that suppress the costs of power generation. However, this analysis…

Matar, Walid

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

Taylor & Francis Online

This paper examines the marginal welfare gain of adopting higher energy efficiency after another efficiency measure has already been installed. For example, how does installing stringent thermal insulation influence energy efficiency investment decisions thereafter? A mathematical model that embeds a…

Walid Matar

Can Oil Refiners Adjust to a Greater Supply of Shale Oil?

Walid Matar, Rami Shabaneh

The advent of American shale oil and its prospects for continued production growth have raised concerns about whether oil refineries can handle the increasingly lighter crude oil supply. To provide a perspective on this issue, we run a global oil…

Matar, Walid

Shabaneh, Rami

Real Gross Domestic Income for Saudi Arabia: A Measure of National Income

Anwar Gasim, Walid Matar

“A country’s national income is defined as the total market value of its output. The most used measure for national income is gross domestic product (GDP). One way to estimate GDP for a country is to sum its government consumption,…

Gasim, Anwar

Matar, Walid

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

Viability of Seasonal Natural Gas Storage in the Saudi Energy System

Science Direct

Walid Matar, Rami Shabaneh

Residential Energy Efficiency Investment and Behavioural Response Under Different Electricity Pricing Schemes: A Physical-microeconomic Approach

Taylor & Francis Online

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effects of electricity price changes and energy efficiency subsidy on household energy efficiency purchase and/or behavioural adjustment decisions. The analysis adds energy efficiency investment to a methodology that merges the physics…

Walid Matar

A Look Back on Saudi Fossil Fuel Incentives in the Last Decade

Walid Matar

The Joint Organisations Data Initiative (JODI) and the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) have just released energy use data for 2019. This insight provides an up-to-date estimation of how fossil fuel incentives have changed in 2019 compared with 2009.

Matar, Walid

Residential Energy Efficiency Investment and Demand Response Under Different Electricity Pricing Schemes: A Physical- Microeconomic Approach

Walid Matar

This paper expands on a previously-presented methodology that merges the physical properties of energy with microeconomic principles: The physical side of the model informs how much electricity is used to satisfy services that people desire, while the microeconomic side imposes…

Matar, Walid

Natural Gas Strategies for the Saudi Energy System

Walid Matar, Rami Shabaneh

Fuel prices in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have historically been below international market values. This has stimulated rapid growth in primary energy demand. The Kingdom’s natural gas demand has now outstripped its domestic production, forcing the government to impose…

Matar, Walid

Shabaneh, Rami

Viability of Seasonal Natural Gas Storage in the Saudi Energy System

Walid Matar, Rami Shabaneh

Saudi Arabia expects to double its natural gas production within the next decade. This increased domestic supply is expected to meet the demand for gas from Saudi Arabia’s industrial development and, most importantly, to displace liquid fuels in its electricity…

Matar, Walid

Shabaneh, Rami

A Household’s Power Load Response to a Change in the Electricity Pricing Scheme: An Expanded Microeconomic-physical Approach

Research Gate

Energy economists are interested in how changes in electricity prices prompt a response in end-user electricity demand. If historical prices are low or seldom change, it becomes difficult to estimate price elasticities statistically , especially in the short-run. Thus, a…

Walid Matar