Study Summaries

Refining Value Chain Optimization Trends in the United States: The Shale Factor

Podcast script:   Shale oil is another name for the more technical term: light tight oil (LTO). It is characterized by being sweet due to its low sulfur content of 0.2%, and light for being less viscous with average API…

Utility-Scale Storage: Sleeping Giant or Mirage?

Podcast script:   The world is witnessing a growing demand for electricity. This has fueled a move toward renewable and cleaner energy sources, as many experts anticipate that over 70% of the needed global system capacity will come from solar…

The Saudi Move into Hydrogen: A Paradigm Shift

Podcast script:   Saudi Arabia is committed to transitioning to a cleaner and more sustainable energy system, which is an essential input into most industrial sectors’ production processes, and is required for export diversification and import substitution strategies. Saudi Arabia…

Energy Security and Portfolio Diversification: The Exporter’s Perspective

Podcast script:   The dominant views of energy security usually revolve around the security of physical supply and its price affordability, which is an importer-centric view and ignores the perspective of the energy exporters in the energy security domain. Energy…

Saudi Arabia’s Unfolding Power Sector Reform: Features, Challenges and Opportunities for Market Integration- Part 2

Podcast script:   Reforming the structure of the power industry proved to be the most challenging aspect of the roadmap to reach a competitive electricity market. The industry comprises three distinct power sectors that work together to get electricity to…

Saudi Arabia’s Gas Flaring Mitigation Experience

Podcast script:   Gas is considered as the ideal fuel in the transition toward clean, sustainable, and affordable energy access. Many countries are increasingly integrating it in their energy mix to generate power as an alternative to the dirty and…

Saudi Arabia’s Unfolding Power Sector Reform: Features, Challenges and Opportunities for Market Integration-Part 1

Saudi Arabia’s electric power industry is the largest in the Gulf region. The country’s electricity peak demand in 2007 was 35 GW, and almost doubled in size to reach 61.7 GW in 2017. That means an average growth rate of…

Demystifying Policy Support Mechanisms for Distributed Solar Photovoltaic Systems

The adoption of solar energy technologies has recently gained considerable global momentum as an alternative option to generate electricity. It can be centrally generated by utilities in large solar power stations, or generated in a decentralized fashion by small, photovoltaic…

Estimating the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Saudi GDP

The COVID-19 pandemic has led many countries to implement strict restrictions that have not been seen since the Second World War. This caused an interruption of economic and social activities at an accelerating pace, as many governments imposed a ban on international and domestic flights, partial or…

The Prospect of Unconventional Gas Development in Saudi Arabia

In 2010, Saudi Aramco launched its Accelerated Transformation Plan, which aims to extend the company’s E&P and downstream activities into new frontiers, and promote the production of unconventional natural gas resources in tight sands and shale formations. Currently, Saudi Arabia has…