Publications

Electric Vehicle Deployment and Carbon Emissions in Saudi Arabia: A Power System Perspective

Amro Elshurafa, Nawaz Peerbocus

A power system model for Saudi Arabia was built to quantify the carbon emission implications of deploying electric vehicles (EVs) within the Kingdom. The model represented the four operating regions in the Kingdom as segmented by the electricity regulator.

Elshurafa, Amro

Peerbocus, Nawaz

Trends in Global Solar PV Installation

Amro Elshurafa

Dozens of governments around the world have supported, and still support, renewable energy technology deployment, including solar photovoltaics (PV). This has been driven by their ambitions to be energy independent, meet carbon emission reduction targets, and contribute to their domestic…

Elshurafa, Amro

The Role of Oil in the Allocation of Foreign Aid: The Case of G7 Donors

Science Direct

Aid allocated by G7 donors increases significantly with oil endowment of recipient countries. Motivated by energy security concerns, G7 donors compete for oil resources in their provision of foreign aid.    

Fatih Karanfil, Luc Desire Omgba, Eric Kilama Gabin, Cecile Couharde

Degree of stringency matters: Revisiting the pollution haven hypothesis based on the heterogeneous panels and aggregate data

Cambridge

Empirical studies on the trade-environment nexus that use panel data face two simultaneous challenges. One is associated with the potential presence of unobserved cross-country heterogeneity, while the other is due to the use of aggregate data. In this paper, we…

Thomas Jobert, Fatih Karanfil, Anna Tykhonenko

The Potential of Distributed Solar PV Capacity in Riyadh: A GIS-Assisted Study

Abdelrahman Muhsen, Amro Elshurafa

Rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, commonly referred to as distributed generation (DG) solar systems, can play a central role in the energy mix for sustainable cities. As with all forms of power generation, DG carries technical, financial, policy, and market…

Muhsen, Abdelrahman

Elshurafa, Amro

Crude Oil Use in the Saudi Electricity Sector

Thamir Al Shehri

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has taken several measures to promote sustainability in its electricity sector. In 2016 and 2018, the government of Saudi Arabia introduced a range of reforms as part of Saudi Vision 2030 to modernize the economy…

Al Shehri, Thamir

Behavioral Analysis on Developing a GCC Power Market

Nourah Al Hosain

In 2011, the Gulf Cooperation Council Interconnection Authority (GCCIA) completed the construction of a regional power grid connecting the Gulf states. Its main purpose was to provide backup in case of power emergencies. The grid also increases the likelihood of…

Al Hosain, Nourah

Political Feasibility of Enhancing India’s Midcentury Target for Emissions Intensity

AlJawhara Al Quayid, Nourah Al Hosain, Yagyavalk Bhatt, Paul Mollet

India’s greenhouse gas emissions have grown along with its rapid economic growth, making it the world’s third-largest emitter after China and the United States. Under the Paris Agreement, India has committed to reduce its emissions intensity relative to its GDP…

Al Quayid, AlJawhara

Al Hosain, Nourah

Bhatt, Yagyavalk

Mollet, Paul

India’s Increasing Imports of Crude Oil

Yagyavalk Bhatt

Surging global benchmark crude oil rates, tied with a depreciating Indian rupee against the United States dollar (US$) and India’s increasing dependence on crude oil imports, are likely to push India’s crude oil import bill higher. This insight sheds light…

Bhatt, Yagyavalk

An Improved Understanding of The Balance of System Costs Can Improve The Economics of Solar PV Projects

Amro Elshurafa, Nawaz Peerbocus

Much of the discussion around the cost of solar photovoltaic (PV) generation has focused on the costs of PV modules that convert sunlight to electricity. The overall capital cost of a PV system consists of two components: the cost of…

Elshurafa, Amro

Peerbocus, Nawaz

Estimating the Household Consumption Function in Saudi Arabia: An Error Correction Approach

Taylor & Francis Online

We estimate a micro-founded life-cycle consumption model for Saudi Arabia over the period 1970–2017 using error correction model procedures. Dynamic adjustments are significant, and both income and wealth are found to have significant effects, with a long-run marginal propensity to…

Goblan Al Gahtani, Carlo Andrea Bollino, Simona Bigerna, Axel Pierru

Temperature Trends Across Cities in Saudi Arabia

Turki Alaqeel, Nawaz Peerbocus

KAPSARC examined temperature data for 11 cities spread across Saudi Arabia over 10 years. Except for Makkah, all cities in Saudi Arabia were warmer in 2018 compared with the national 10-year average. 

Alaqeel, Turki

Peerbocus, Nawaz

The Challenges in Measuring Global Oil Production

Timely and accurate oil production data is critical for understanding both the short-term oil market and for global energy balances. In the absence of reliable official data from many key oil producing countries, oil market analysts rely on a range…

US Rolls Back Regulation but the Oil Industry Moves Forward

Paul Mollet

On August 28, 2019, the United States (U.S.) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a series of amendments to Obama-era environmental regulations covering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that it claims will save the oil and gas industry millions of dollars in…

Mollet, Paul

An overview of key evolutions in the light-duty vehicle sector and their impact on oil demand

Springer

The light-duty vehicle (LDV) sector is undergoing many changes, including technological advancements (e.g., vehicle electrification, automation), new business models (e.g., ride-hailing), and government regulations and policies (e.g., fuel economy (FE) standards, zero-emission vehicle mandates, infrastructure investments, and incentives to encourage…

Mohammed Albrahim, Ahmed Al Zahrani, Anvita Arora, Rubal Dua, Bassam Fattouh, Adam Sieminski

Aramco and Reliance: Alliance Between Giants

Kaushik Deb

India’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) announced at its 42nd annual general meeting that it had signed a letter of intent to sell a 20% stake in RIL’s chemicals, refining and fuel marketing (oil-to-chemicals [O2C]) business to Saudi Aramco in a…

Deb, Kaushik

Assessing Energy Policy Instruments: LNG Imports Into Saudi Arabia

Rami Shabaneh, Maxime Schenckery

Natural gas is already playing a prominent role in diversifying Saudi Arabia’s power mix away from a heavy reliance on oil-based fuels. Between 2010 and 2017, the share of natural gas used in power generation in Saudi Arabia grew from…

Shabaneh, Rami

Schenckery, Maxime

Is the Time Ripe for Private Investment in Interconnections in the MENA Region?

Shahid Hasan

Efforts to integrate power systems and markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are gaining momentum. With rapidly growing regional electricity demand, the development of an integrated electricity market…

Hasan, Shahid

Solar PV on mosque rooftops: Results from a pilot study in Saudi Arabia

Science Direct

Amro Elshurafa, Abdullah Alsubaie, Ayman Alabduljabbar, Shafi Al-Hsaien

Gasoline Price Reform in Saudi Arabia

Anwar Gasim, Mohammad Aldubyan

Saudi Arabia has been adjusting gasoline prices on a quarterly basis since the start of 2019, with the most recent adjustment occurring on July 14, 2019. These adjustments depend on changes in international oil prices, and are smaller than the…

Gasim, Anwar

Aldubyan, Mohammad