Gulf energy and the world : challenges and threats / Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research

Second impression 2014

First published in 1997 by The Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The role of the Gulf in world energy: lessons from the past /Paul Stevens --A relevant framework for understanding the global crude oil market /Vahan Zanoyan --Growing energy demand in Asian countries: opportunities and constraints for Gulf energy exporters /Ken Koyama --Natural gas and Gulf oil: boon or bane /Thomas Stauffer --The economics of petroleum in the former Soviet Union /Michael C. Lynch --Forecasting the demand for gasoline in the GCC countries /Abdel Razaq Faris Al-Faris --Challenges for Gulf optimization strategies: constraint of the past /Walid Khadduri

This work provides energy trend assessments and analyses of the future relationship of oil and gas to the world economy, and offers policy recommendations for the Gulf region. Currently, the Gulf oil-producing countries are faced with a myriad of challenges to their pre-eminent position as one of the world's key providers of energy resources. The downward trend in the real price of oil, since the early 1980s has forced the Gulf economies to undergo a series of significant adjustments.

Given the sizeable oil reserves available in the Gulf, the rising energy demand in Asia, and the growing energy needs of the Gulf itself, the Gulf region will continue to play a crucial role in the world energy market. In this context, some of the potential threats to the Gulf position in world oil market are discussed, including the development of energy efficient technologies, the competition between gas exporters in the Gulf and the production potential of the former Soviet Union. The book concludes by underlining the urgent need for economic diversification in Gulf nations.