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- Natural gas is projected to retain its dominant position in the Middle East’s power sector, with 1.9% average annual growth between 2002 to 2025.
- In the industrial sector, however, natural gas use is projected to grow by 4 % per year, accounting for more than two-thirds of the overall incremental growth in gas demand in the region over the forecast period.
- The natural gas share of total energy consumed in the region’s industrial sector is projected to grow from 46 % in 2002 to 59 % in 2025, and oil is expected to lose share in the sector (from 41% of industrial energy consumption in 2002 to just under 30% in 2025).
- Natural gas is the fastest growing component of the world energy mix.
- For the next 20 years, energy agencies forecast a growth rate of 2.4 per cent annually for gas pointing out that this would translate to a gas consumption sharp increase by 2025. The introduction of nuclear energy fuelsThis way, they can encourage economic diversification by setting up more and more gas-friendly downstream plants that churn out higher value-added products.
- Iran has the world's second largest natural gas reserves (estimated at 940 trillion cubic feet).
- Around 62% of Iranian natural gas reserves are located in non-associated fields, and have not been developed, meaning that Iran has great potential for future gas development. Major non-associated gas fields include: South Pars (280-500 Tcf of gas reserves), North Pars (50 Tcf), Kangan (29 Tcf), Nar (13 Tcf), and Khangiran (11 Tcf).
- With its enormous natural gas reserves, Iran is looking to export large volumes of gas.
- Potential customers for Iranian gas exports include:Turkey, Ukraine, Europe, India, Pakistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (interested in receiving Iranian gas via Armenia), Taiwan, South Korea, and even China.
- India and Pakistan signed an accord yesterday on sharing natural gas from a field in Iran through a proposed $7.4 billion pipeline,
- Qatar has the world’s third largest natural gas reserves (estimated at 910 trillion cubic feet), and recently agreed deals that will make it a major international energy provider. The Qatari Government’s initiatives in developing the vast natural gas potential is reinstated by the Dolphin Project, an integrated natural gas pipeline grid for Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, with a possible subsea connection linking Oman to Pakistan. With such vast reserves of natural gas, Qatar has also been interested in potential development of Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) projects. Six of the nine confirmed GTL projects in the world are located in the state of Qatar as joint ventures based on an integrated development and production sharing agreement with major international oil companies.
- Barzan gas project with start-up anticipated in 2012 will produce some 1.5 billion cubic feet per day of sales gas dedicated for Qatar's growing domestic gas consumption.
- This year Ras Gas 5 project costing approximately $1.7bn and production capacity of with 4.7m tonnes per annum (mtpa) production capacity makes it one of the world’s top LNG producers.
- Qatar's huge liquefied natural gas projects Rasgas and Qatargas will have a combined cost of $56 billion when they are completed in 2012
- Saudi Arabia has natural gas reserves of 235 trillion cubic feet.
- As the demand for domestic hydrocarbons continues to grow rapidly for power generation, petrochemicals and desalination, increasing natural gas production is a priority for the Saudi government, which aims to triple natural gas output (to 15 Bcf/d) by 2009.
- Around 60 % of Saudi Arabia's currently proven natural gas reserves consist of associated gas, mainly from the onshore Ghawar field and the offshore Safaniya and Zuluf fields
- UAE has natural gas reserves of 212 trillion cubic feet that are projected to last for approximately 150-170 years. Increased domestic consumption of electricity and growing demand from the petrochemical industry have provided incentives for the UAE to increase its use of natural gas. The past few years have seen the UAE embark on a massive, multi-billion dollar program of investment in its natural gas sector including a shift toward natural gas-fired power plants and the transformation of the Taweelah commercial district into a natural gas-based industrial zone. An ambitious plan, the Dolphin Project, to interconnect the natural gas grids of Qatar, the UAE, and Oman, also is underway.
- Natural gas is continuing to develop as an alternative fuel of choice, and a forecast of 20 per cent natural gas share of road traffic fuel consumption in the UAE by 2010
- Dolphin energy will start supplying natural gas from Qatar to Dubai.
- Abu Dhabi is planning to invest more than $7 billion by 2009 to expand its natural gas liquids production, a top official said yesterday.
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