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OAPEC Activities
The Joint Arab Economic Report 2015 was issued
recently. It is prepared jointly by 4 Arab organizations:
the League of Arab States (LAS), the Arab Fund for
Economic and Social Development, theArab Monetary
Fund (AMF), and the Organization of Arab Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OAPEC). It provides an analysis
of the economic developments in the Arab countries
during 2014.
In Chapter 5 on oil and energy developments,
prepared by OAPEC Secretariat General, the report
states that the oil market has witnessed a relative
stability in the first half of 2014, as a reflection of the
slight growth of the world economy performance.
In the second half of 2014, the oil market witnessed
a sudden change when the world oil prices dropped
sharply to hit their lowest levels since 2010, as a result
of various interrelated factors.
2014 witnessed a slight increase in proven crude
oil reserves. Also, proven natural gas reserves have
witnessed a slight increase. The total world oil supplies
(crude oil and LNG) have significantly risen in 2014
by about 1.1 million b/d to reach 92.5 million b/d. Oil demand went up
by only 1 million b/d compared to a growth rate of 1.3 million b/d in
2013 to reach 91.2 million b/d in 2014.
In 2014, the Arab countries have made 12 oil discoveries and 5 gas
discoveries. Arab countries’ share of proven oil reserves has dropped
to 55.2%, while their share of natural gas has remained unchanged at
27.5% since last year. Arab crude oil production has dropped as well to
account for 30% of the world’s total production. Arab share of marketed
gas has dropped slightly to 17% of the world’s total production in 2014.
Arab countries energy consumption in 2014 has risen by 4.3% to
reach 14.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. Oil and natural
gas remained the main energy sources for Arab countries, as together
they meet more than 98.2% of the total energy needs in these countries
throughout the year.
Annual rates of export oils prices in theArab countries have dropped
by various rates in 2014. All these factors have reflected negatively on
the total value of Arab countries’ oil exports, as primary estimations
point out to a drop from $693.7 billion in 2013 to $606.8 billion in
2014, representing a drop of 12.5%.
Joint Arab Economic Report 2015
An overview on Economic Developments in the Arab Countries