Dubai:
The Middle East and North Africa (Mena) will need more than $1 trillion of investment by 2030 to meet the region’s growing appetite for gas and electricity, market intelligence group IHS have said.
Details of an analysis shared by HIS at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (Adipec) were released on Monday in a press release. Along with the region’s increasing demand for energy, IHS stated that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries would soon contribute 50 per cent of the Mena region’s economic growth.
Demand for natural gas among the GCC countries will increase by more than 50 per cent by 2030, from 256 billion cubic metre (bcm) in 2011 to 400 bcm in 2030, according to the press release. Oil demand will rise by 50 per cent.
IHS stated that trade between GCC states and Asia would continue to increase.
“Energy-thirsty economies of China and India have become key trade partners for the GCC and wider Middle East, looking to Iran and Iraq for energy opportunities as well. But, future growth depends on how quickly the GCC countries can diversify and embrace Asia,” Bryan Plamondon, senior economist, IHS Global Insight stated.
