Raed is a research associate in the Markets and Industrial Development program, with a particular interest in industrial development, economic diversification, and econometric modeling. He has worked with different types of econometric modeling techniques on different projects, especially in the field of economic diversification and oil prices. Prior to joining KAPSARC, Raed worked for Standard & Poor’s analytics division, where he was involved in designing the first probability of default model tailored to the Saudi economy. Raed is the author of the 2012 book, Does the U.S. Dollar Have an Effect on the Price of Oil? He earned his Ph.D. in Economics from Southern Illinois University and was awarded a Master of Science in Economics from California State Polytechnic University. The title of his dissertation was “Economic Diversification: The Case of Saudi Arabia with Reference to Rich Natural Resource Countries.”

Natural Gas Price Surge: Implications for International Energy Markets and the Way Forward
What Are the Reasons Behind the Soaring Gas Prices? As the Northern Hemisphere has moved into winter, the current worldwide surge in energy prices has raised fears of an energy crisis with serious implications. The focus of this brief Instant Insight is twofold. First, we provide a brief overview of the current energy market. We then discuss the potential short- and long-term implications for users of natural gas, both residential and industrial. The analysis highlights that, although the world debated reducing investment in fossil fuels at COP26 in Glasgow, OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and its partners have had to deal with calls from major energy consumers to increase production to curb the current price trend.
24th January 2022