Mediterranean Economies 2023
DOI: 10.1401/9788815411167/c4
In this
section we will analyse the endowment of the two
fossil fuels, oil and natural gas, in MENA
countries. Inside the MENA region, six Middle
Eastern countries possess almost all the energy
resources: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq, UAE and
Kuwait. North African countries are those with the
lowest levels of reserves. As regards oil reserves,
Saudi Arabia has reserves that exceed those (33.66
per cent) of the other MENA countries. It is
followed by Iran and Iraq which possess 17.86 per
cent and 16.13 per cent, respectively, of MENA
reserves. Furthermore, the residual life of the
reserves in these three countries exceeds 50 years.
Reserves of countries like Iran and Kuwait can reach
peaks of 139 and 103 years of residual life.
Analysing the supply, Saudi Arabia comes first for
production and refinery capacity. Its production of
oil amounted to 519.6 million tonnes in 2020, with a
refinery capacity of 2,905 thousand barrels per day.
The second producer is Iraq which accounted for 202
million tonnes of oil. It is followed by the UAE and
Iran.
¶{p. 123}
Source: elaboration by the
authors on data from British Petroleum [2022],
Statistical Review of World Energy
2022.
Source:
elaboration by the authors on data from British
Petroleum [2022], Statistical Review of World
Energy 2022.
Reserves
(Thousand Million
Tonnes) |
Total
Incidence on MENA |
Production
(Million Tonnes) |
Reserves to
production ratio |
Refining
Capacity (Thousand Barrels Daily) |
|
Saudi
Arabia |
40.9 |
33.66% |
519.6 |
73.6 |
2,905 |
Iran |
21.7 |
17.86% |
143.2 |
139.8 |
2,475 |
Iraq |
19.6 |
16.13% |
202.0 |
96.3 |
919 |
Kuwait |
14 |
11.52% |
130.3 |
103.2 |
800 |
UAE |
13 |
10.70% |
166.6 |
73.1 |
1,331 |
Libya |
6.3 |
5.19% |
20.0 |
339.2 |
– |
Qatar |
2.6 |
2.14% |
72.0 |
38.1 |
429 |
Algeria |
1.5 |
1.23% |
57.5 |
25.0 |
657 |
Oman |
0.7 |
0.58% |
46.1 |
15.4 |
304 |
Egypt |
0.4 |
0.33% |
31.1 |
14.0 |
795 |
Yemen |
0.4 |
0.33% |
3.8 |
86.7 |
– |
Syria |
0.3 |
0.25% |
2.0 |
158.8 |
– |
Tunisia |
0.1 |
0.08% |
1.7 |
32.7 |
– |
Others |
122.9 |
0% |
2,774.9 |
915.9 |
91,716 |
MENA |
121.5 |
100% |
1,396.028 |
1,195.966 |
10,615 |
Source:
elaboration by the authors on data from British
Petroleum [2022], Statistical Review of World
Energy 2022. | |||||
Reserves
(Trillion Cubic
Metres) |
Total
Incidence on MENA |
Production
(Billion Cubic Metres) |
Reserves to
production ratio |
|
Iran |
32.1 |
39.58% |
249.5 |
128 |
Qatar |
24.7 |
30.46% |
174.9 |
144 |
Saudi
Arabia |
6 |
7.40% |
113.1 |
53.7 |
UAE |
5.9 |
7.27% |
55.4 |
107.1 |
Algeria |
2.3 |
2.84% |
81.5 |
28 |
Iraq |
3.5 |
4.32% |
7 |
336.3 |
Egypt |
2.1 |
2.59% |
58.5 |
36.6 |
Kuwait |
1.7 |
2.10% |
16.5 |
113.2 |
Libya |
1.4 |
1.73% |
12.1 |
107.4 |
Oman |
0.7 |
0.86% |
36.9 |
18 |
Syria |
0.3 |
0.37% |
2.7 |
89.6 |
Yemen |
0.3 |
0.37% |
0.3 |
2,618.8 |
Bahrain |
0.1 |
0.12% |
16.4 |
3.9 |
Others Middle
East |
<0.05 |
0.00% |
15 |
24.7 |
MENA |
81.1 |
100% |
839.8 |
3,809.3 |
Source:
elaboration by the authors on data from British
Petroleum [2022], Statistical Review of World
Energy 2022. | ||||
Focusing on natural gas, Iran and Qatar have the
highest reserves (70 per cent of MENA reserves,
39.58 per cent and 30.46 per cent respectively.
Referring to the production levels, Iran, together
with Qatar, is the main natural gas producer. In
2020 production in Iran ran at 249.5 billion cubic
metres vs 179.9 billion cubic metres in Qatar.
Overall, the life expectancy of reserves in Middle
East is higher than those of the reserves in North
Africa, averaging in the whole MENA area 272 years.
3.2. Geographic orientation of MENA oil and gas exports
Oil. As mentioned above, the
Middle East is the region with the highest level of
oil production.
Its
exports to African and Asiatic countries in 2021
amounted to 459.96 million tonnes. China and India
are the main oil importers from the Middle East
(44.31 per cent and 26.72 per cent,
¶{p. 125}respectively). Exports
towards China and India also represent a large slice
of North African total exports, even if they are
lower than those from the Middle East, in absolute
terms.
Source:
elaboration by the authors on data from British
Petroleum [2022], Statistical Review of World
Energy 2022.
Natural Gas. The quantity of
natural gas exported by MENA countries is lower than
the quantity of oil exported: total natural gas
exports amount to 80.4 billion cubic metres of which
just over half is exported from North Africa. Unlike
oil, commercial exchanges of natural gas occur
internally for more than half of the exports from
the Middle East. The main customer is the UAE which
imports 50.8 per cent of total natural gas exported
via pipeline from the Middle East, especially from
Qatar.
On the
other hand, exports towards Europe mainly come from
Iran which exported 9.1 billion cubic metres in
2021. While Middle Eastern exports concentrate
within the MENA area, most of the exports from North
Africa are directed towards Europe. Algeria and
Libya are the main African exporters of gas,
accounting for 37.2 billion cubic metres, of which
34.1 are from Algeria.
Focusing on the trade of liquefied natural gas,
exports from the Middle East and North Africa open
to a more diversified ¶{p. 126}range
of customers. The list of importers includes
countries from Europe, Asia, the Middle East and
overseas countries such as Argentina and Brazil.
After Iran, Qatar has the second largest percentage
of reserves. However, it is the main exporter of
liquified natural gas whose total exports in 2021
amounted to 102.7 billion cubic metres. Asian
countries remain the major importers of liquified
natural gas from Qatar. Among these, South Korea is
the chief importer, amounting to 16 billion cubic
metres, followed by India which imported 13.6
billion cubic metres of liquified natural gas in
2021, and finally China and Japan which share the
same amount of imports. More than 50 per cent of
North African exports, especially those from
Algeria, are directed towards Europe.
Source:
elaboration by the authors on data from British
Petroleum [2022], Statistical Review of World
Energy 2022.
Summing
up, the MENA region contributes to a high share of
production of oil and natural gas. Recipients vary
according to the country of origin of the exports.
The Middle Eastern countries export mostly towards
countries within the MENA, thanks also to
geographical proximity, while European countries are
the main customers of North Africa.
¶{p. 127}
From |
||||
To |
Iran |
Qatar |
Algeria |
Libya |
Europe |
9.1 |
– |
34.1 |
3.1 |
CIS |
0.5 |
– |
– |
– |
UAE |
– |
19.5 |
– |
– |
Other Middle
East |
7.7 |
1.6 |
– |
– |
Africa |
– |
– |
4.8 |
– |
Source:
elaboration by the authors on data from
British Petroleum [2022], Statistical Review of
World Energy 2022. | ||||
From |
|||||
To |
Oman |
Qatar |
UAE |
Algeria |
Egypt |
Middle East
& Africa |
– |
5 |
0.3 |
0.1 |
0.4 |
Argentina |
– |
1.4 |
– |
– |
– |
Brazil |
– |
0.9 |
– |
– |
– |
Chile |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
Other S. &
Central America |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
Belgium
|
– |
3.2 |
– |
0.1 |
0.1 |
France
|
– |
0.7 |
– |
4.5 |
0.2 |
Italy
|
– |
6.5 |
– |
1.3 |
0.3 |
Spain
|
– |
2.4 |
– |
2.1 |
0.4 |
Turkey
|
– |
0.3 |
– |
6.1 |
1.3 |
United Kingdom
|
– |
6.0 |
– |
0.7 |
– |
Other European
Union |
– |
3.5 |
– |
0.6 |
0.3 |
Africa
|
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
China
|
2.2 |
12.3 |
1.0 |
0.3 |
1.7 |
India
|
1.7 |
13.6 |
4.9 |
0.1 |
1.5 |
Japan
|
2.6 |
12.3 |
1.8 |
– |
0.3 |
Pakistan
|
– |
8.1 |
0.3 |
– |
1.1 |
Singapore
|
– |
0.2 |
– |
– |
0.3 |
South Korea
|
6.3 |
16.1 |
0.4 |
– |
0.3 |
Taiwan
|
0.6 |
6.5 |
0.1 |
– |
0.3 |
Thailand
|
0.3 |
3.6 |
– |
– |
– |
Total
exports of LNG |
13.8 |
102.7 |
8.8 |
15.9 |
8.5 |
Source:
elaboration by the authors on data from British
Petroleum [2022], Statistical Review of World
Energy 2022. | |||||