Estimates of regional energy consumption and carbon emissions could be useful for agencies investigating the effects of regionally targeted investments and policy interventions. Using gasoline consumption in Saudi Arabia as a case study, we develop two approaches for estimating the regional variation in gasoline consumption in Saudi Arabia: a sector-specific approach and a generic econometrics-based approach. Our findings reveal that Riyadh and Makkah, which account for 60% of the nation’s population and economic activity, consume 58% of the country’s gasoline. In contrast, the Eastern Region accounts for 22% of economic activity but only 11% of gasoline consumption, in line with its population concentration of approximately 15%. Furthermore, the correlation between the sector-specific and generic econometrics-based approaches suggests that the latter may be a good proxy for estimating regional variations in energy consumption.
