Upcoming Event: “Rhetoric and Reality in Arab-U.S. Energy Relations” – April 11 in Washington, DC

Posted on March 21, 2013 by NCUSAR

On April 11, 2013, the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations and the U.S.-GCC Corporate Cooperation Committee are hosting a public affairs briefing on “Rhetoric and Reality in Arab-U.S. Energy Relations” featuring Mr. John Hofmeister, Founder and Chief Executive of Citizens for Affordable Energy and former President of Shell Oil Company; Professor Paul Sullivan, Professor of Economics at National Defense University and Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University; and Ms. Randa Fahmy Hudome, President of Fahmy Hudome International and former Associate Deputy Secretary of Energy.

Mubarak Offshore Platform, United Arab Emirates

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Basic Facts about Oil and Gas in the Arab World

Posted on March 13, 2013 by NCUSAR

Source: Bassam Fattouh and Laura El-Katiri, “Energy and Arab Economic Development,” Arab Human Development Report Paper Series, 2012, http://www.arab-hdr.org/publications/other/ahdrps/ENGFattouhKatiriV2.pdf.

Arab countries hold more proven oil reserves than any other region (713.6 billion barrels), comprising more than 43 percent of the world’s total proven reserves.
With an average output of 26.3 million barrels per day in 2011, the Arab world produces nearly a third of world oil supply.
Oil reserves in the GCC countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE) are among the cheapest in the world to find, develop, and produce (with the exception of those in Oman). The IEA estimates total production costs in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the UAE to vary between $3 and $5 per barrel of oil produced.
Saudi Arabia holds more than 265 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, 16 percent of global total reserves. Four of the world’s ten largest producers of oil are Arab oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Iraq.

World Oil Reserves and Production by Region

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“Energy: Policymaking Dynamics of Sources, Supply, and Security” at the 2012 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

Posted on December 4, 2012 by NCUSAR

H.E. Ambassador Mohamed Bin Abdulla Al-Rumaihi, Ms. Randa Fahmy Hudome, Mr. James LeJeune, Mr. John Hofmeister, and Mr. Frank Verrastro gave remarks on “Energy: Policymaking Dynamics of Sources, Supply, and Security” at the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations’ 21st Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference. The conference, on the theme “Arab-U.S. Relations Amidst Transition within Constancy: Implications for American and Arab Interests and Policies,” was held October 25-26, 2012 at the Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center in Washington, DC.

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Remarks on GCC Economic Issues by Dr. Odeh Aburdene

Posted on June 15, 2012 by NCUSAR

The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations recently organized and administered a seminar, moderated by Council President and CEO Dr. John Duke Anthony, on various aspects of the Gulf Cooperation Council and its members: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. In addition to Dr. Anthony, the speakers were international investment advisor Dr. Odeh Aburdene, independent consultant Ms. Randa Fahmy Hudome, scholar Ms. Molly Williamson, the U.S. Department of State’s Mr. Joshua Yaphe and Mr. Andrew Rabens, and National Defense University Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies representative Mr. Robert Sharp. The occasion for the seminar was in commemoration of the GCC’s 31st anniversary since its founding in May 1981.

The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations’ Capital Seminar on

“The Gulf Cooperation Council at Thirty Plus One:
Implications for GCC and U.S. Interests and Policies”

Transcribed, Edited, and Revised Remarks on GCC Economic Issues

by Dr. Odeh Aburdene

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The Gulf Cooperation Council at 31: Implications of Trends and Indications for GCC and US Interests

Posted on May 30, 2012 by NCUSAR

On May 24, 2012, the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations and the U.S.-GCC Corporate Cooperation Committee hosted “The Gulf Cooperation Council at 31: Implications of Trends and Indications for GCC and US Interests” at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC. Participating specialists were: Dr. Odeh Aburdene, Ms. Randa Fahmy Hudome, Mr. Andrew Rabens, Mr. Robert Sharp, Ms. Molly Williamson, and Mr. Joshua Yaphe. National Council Founding President and CEO Dr. John Duke Anthony served as moderator. A podcast, video, and transcription of the program is available below.

Saudi Arabia’s Energy Crisis

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Robert Lebling

The good news for Saudi Arabia is that its economy is booming. The bad news for us – and for the Saudis as well – is that the Kingdom is consuming more and more of its precious petroleum resources, and within a decade may have to begin cutting back on its oil exports to the rest of the world.

Saudi Arabia

Chatham House, a leading international affairs think-tank based in Great Britain, has spent over a year studying energy use in Saudi Arabia and reports that:

Energy consumption has been climbing since the early 1970s and shows no slowdown in response to dips in the oil price;
Oil and gas continue to account for all of Saudi Arabia’s energy production, with oil continuing to dominate the energy mix; and
Steady diversification into gas began in the early 1970s; but Oil’s share in the energy mix has nevertheless begun to rise again over the last six years.

Trends and Indications for Stabilizing Global Energy Markets

In a recent report entitled, “Burning to Keep Cool: The Hidden Energy Crisis in Saudi Arabia,” Chatham House researchers Glada Lahn and Prof. Paul Stevens said unchecked growth in energy consumption in Saudi Arabia was a “cause for international concern.” If it continues at its present rate, this would threaten the Kingdom’s ability to stabilize world oil markets.

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