Regional Energy Markets Models, Data and Tools Electricity Sector Transitions Saudi Arabia Energy Report Abeer AlGhamdi Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s leading oil producers and exporters. It has the second-largest proven crude oil reserves after Venezuela. Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves have made it one of the most significant players in the global oil market.… AlGhamdi, Abeer
COVID-19 and Mobility in Riyadh: An Analysis of Changes in Motorized Trips and Possible Emission Loss Abu Toasin Oakil In this insight, we investigate the implications of COVID-19 on mobility in Riyadh. COVID-19 has impacted our world, leading to a ‘new norm’ for our standard of living. Countries have restricted personal mobility significantly, among other measures, to control the… Oakil, Abu Toasin
Renewables and the Future of Geopolitics: Revisiting Main Concepts of International Relations from the Lens of Renewables Russian Journal of Economics The development of renewable energy is often treated as a purely positive outcome for the world, without consideration of the challenges that come with implementation at scale, which will inevitably follow with the process of a global energy transition. Studies… Emre Hatipoglu, Saleh Al Muhanna, Brian Efird
How the World Trading System Promotes and Impedes the Diversification of Developing Countries Abdelaaziz Aït Ali, Mohammed Al Doghan, Muhammad Bhatti, Carlos Braga, Abdulelah Darandary, Uri Dadush, Anabel González, Niclas Poitiers Diversification is important because it is associated with economic growth and reduced volatility. Export diversification is especially important for developing countries as a source of foreign exchange and imported know-how. We examine how export diversification is affected by trade policies,… Abdelaaziz Aït Ali Mohammed Al Doghan Muhammad Bhatti Carlos Braga Darandary, Abdulelah Uri Dadush Anabel González Niclas Poitiers
How Responsive is Saudi New Vehicle Fleet Fuel Economy to Fuel-and Vehicle-price Policy Levers? Science Direct This paper investigates the drivers of recent improvements in Saudi Arabia’s fleet fuel economy for new vehicles including passenger cars and light-duty trucks. Vehicle choice models are estimated using both aggregate new vehicle sales data and disaggregate new vehicle buyer… Rubal Dua, Tamara Sheldon
The Value of Storage in Electricity Generation: A Qualitative and Quantitative Review Science Direct Electricity storage (ES) is a technology that can complement variable renewable generation in the widely sought low-carbon future. Given the several unique features of ES, it is important for utilities, investors, and regulators to understand how ES evaluation is conducted… Amro Elshurafa
Electricity Sector Transitions The Value of Storage in Electricity Generation: A Qualitative and Quantitative Review Amro Elshurafa Electricity storage technology has many useful applications in the energy sector and can complement variable renewable power generation to achieve a low-carbon future. For policymakers, utilities, and investors, effective decisions in this context require an understanding of how to determine the monetary value of storage. Elshurafa, Amro
Unlocking the Asian Market for Canadian Oil Producers Malik Selemankhel On Friday, September 23, 2020, United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump gave the green light to a 2,570 kilometer (km) rail link proposed by the private company Alberta to Alaska (A2A). According to A2A, the rail link will be able… Selemankhel, Malik
Regional Energy Markets The Path Toward a Hydrogen Economy: How Industry Can Broaden the Use of Hydrogen In the past couple of years, it became evident that hydrogen would need to play a pivotal role in a carbon-free energy system. It would help decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors and act as an energy carrier to manage large variability in…
World’s First Blue Ammonia Shipment Signals Prospective New Low-Carbon Energy Trade for Saudi Arabia Rami Shabaneh, Majed A. Al Suwailem, Jitendra Roychoudhury On September 27, 2020, Saudi Aramco successfully exported the world’s first shipment of carbon-neutral ammonia to Japan, helping to fuel the nascent Japanese hydrogen economy. This pilot shipment of 40 tonnes is an important realization of the hydrogen economy for… Shabaneh, Rami Al Suwailem, Majed A. Roychoudhury, Jitendra
Energy Price Reform in Saudi Arabia: Modeling the Economic and Environmental Impacts and Understanding the Demand Response Science Direct Saudi Arabia has regulated domestic energy prices for decades, setting them below international market levels. Energy subsidies in Saudi Arabia are generally implicit because they lead to foregone revenues for the government. Low energy prices also encourage rapid energy demand… Mohammad Aldubyan, Anwar Gasim
Electricity Sector Transitions Distribution Networks Tariff Design in the Era of Decentralization: A Business Model Approach Rolando Fuentes In this paper we discuss the unexplored two-way relationship between distribution network tariff design and the emergence of new business models in the power sector. Distribution network tariffs have traditionally used a cost accounting method. We suggest, instead, the use… Fuentes, Rolando
Regional Energy Markets Energy Security and Portfolio Diversification: The Exporter’s Perspective Philipp Galkin, Carlo Andrea Bollino Despite the increasing attention paid to energy security and the continuously broadening scope of the field, the perspective of energy importing countries (i.e., supply security) has overshadowed that of exporters, who seek to ensure demand security. As official statements and… Galkin, Philipp Bollino, Carlo Andrea
Future of Natural Gas Markets Opportunities for Natural Gas Trade and Infrastructure in the GCC Despite the common interests, markets, and economic policies among Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, their energy cooperation has been modest. GCC countries hold 20% of the world’s gas reserves. The Dolphin gas pipeline, connecting Qatar to the United Arab Emirates…
Gasoline Demand Elasticities at the Backdrop of Lower Oil Prices: Fuel-Subsidzing Country Case MDPI This study investigates the income and price elasticities of gasoline demand for a fuel subsidizing country case, applying three different time-varying coefficient approaches to the data spanning the period from January 2002 to June 2018. The empirical estimations concluded a… Jeyhun Mikayilov, Shahriyar Mukhtarov, Jeyhun Mammadov
Future of Global Oil Markets KAPSARC Oil Market Outlook The global oil market moved into deficit in the third quarter of this year and is expected to remain in deficit during the next eight quarters. We expect the deficit to range between 3.4 – 0.1 million barrels per day…
Oman’s Shift to a Post-Oil Economy Springer Oman’s economy has grown dramatically since 1970. Until recently, however, Oman’s economic progress has been largely driven by the wealth generated from oil export revenues. Despite historical attempts to diversify the economy away from oil, the state budget has remained… Aisha Al-Sarihi
Why Should Saudi Arabia Diversify Its Economy? Fateh Belaïd, Shekoofeh Farahmand, Nathalie Hilmi Climate change is a global issue. According to an IPCC special report (IPCC, Global warming of 1.5 °C. An IPCC special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission… Belaïd, Fateh Shekoofeh Farahmand Nathalie Hilmi
Early Estimates of the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on GDP: A Case Study of Saudi Arabia Taylor & Francis Online The COVID-19 pandemic has affected economic sectors in a very heterogeneous way. In the early stages of the economic lockdown, only limited economic data, if any, related to the event were available. With the government’s discretionary measures to contain the… David Havrlant, Abdulelah Darandary, Abdelrahman Muhsen
Future of Transport and Fuel Demand China’s Green Freight Policy Shuxue Chen, Xun Xu In September 2019, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), together with the Ministry of National Resources, the Ministry of Transport, the National Railway Administration, and the State Railway Group, issued the policy announcement, “Guiding opinions on accelerating the development… Shuxue Chen Xu, Xun