WORLD ENERGY PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES

Dr Fatih Birol
Chief Economist
International Energy Agency

Abstract
In recent years, demand for energy has surged. This unrelenting increase has helped fuel
global economic growth but placed considerable pressure on suppliers buffeted by
geopolitics, violent weather conditions and other potentially disruptive factors. On the
demand side, increased energy security and environmental concerns may lead to changes in
consuming countries energy policies. These uncertainties have been reflected in the market
through volatility and high prices. Is the world running out of energy? Where will future
supplies come from? Will adequate investment be made to make available adequate energy
supplies to meet future demand? What role will governments play?
The oil and gas resources of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) will be critical to
meeting the worlds growing appetite for energy. A large share of the worlds remaining
reserves lie in that region. They are relatively under-exploited and so there is considerable
potential for increasing production. But there is considerable uncertainty about the pace at
which investment in the regions upstream industry will actually occur, how quickly
production capacity will expand and, given rising domestic energy needs, how much of the
expected increase in supply will be available for export. The implications for both MENA
producers and consuming countries are profound.
This paper draws on the main findings of the World Energy Outlook 2005, published by the
International Energy Agency. The 2005 Outlook assesses quantitatively the prospects for
global energy markets through to 2030, with a special focus on the Middle East and North
Africa. In addition, it analyses the possible impact of deferred investment in the regions
energy sector and also considers the potential effects of changing policies in consumer
countries to address energy security and environmental concerns. The World Energy
Outlook 2006 will build on this analysis and develop it even further.

Global Energy Trends

Global energy needs are likely to continue to grow steadily for at least the next two-and-a-
half decades. If governments stick with current policies the underlying premise of the
World Energy Outlooks Reference Scenario the worlds energy needs would be more than
50% higher in 2030 than today, an average annual growth rate of 1.6%. More than two-
thirds of the growth in world energy use will come from the developing countries, where
economic and population growth are highest.

World Primary Energy Demand

18 000
16 000
14 000
Oil
12 000
Mtoe 10 000

8 000 Gas
6 000
4 000 Coal

2 000 Other renewables Nuclear

0 Hydro
1970
1971 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030

Source: IEA World Energy Outlook 2005:

Middle East and North Africa Insights 1
Fossil fuels continue to dominate energy supplies, meeting more than 80% of the projected
increase in primary energy demand in this scenario. Oil remains the single largest fuel, with
two-thirds of the increase in oil use coming from the transport sector. Demand reaches 92
mb/d in 2010 and 115 mb/d in 2030. Natural gas demand grows faster, driven mainly by
power generation. It overtakes coal as the worlds second-largest primary energy source
before 2015. In this scenario, the share of coal in world primary demand declines a little,
with demand growth concentrated in China and India. Nuclear powers market share
declines marginally, while that of hydropower remains broadly constant. The share of non-
hydro renewables, including biomass, geothermal, solar, wind, tidal and wave energy, will
remain flat at 11%.
The worlds energy resources are adequate to meet the projected growth in energy demand
in the Reference Scenario. Global oil reserves today exceed the cumulative projected
production between now and 2030, but more reserves will need to be proved up in order to
avoid a peak in production before the end of the projection period. The exact cost of finding
and exploiting energy resources over the coming decades is uncertain, but will certainly be
substantial. Cumulative energy-sector investment needs are estimated at about $17 trillion
(in year-2004 dollars) over 2004-2030, about half in developing countries. Financing the
required investments in non-OECD countries is one of the biggest challenges facing the
energy industry.

MENA Energy Prospects

Rapidly expanding populations, steady economic growth and heavy subsidies will continue
to drive up MENA energy demand. In the Reference Scenario, demand is projected to grow
on average by 2.9% per year over 2003-2030. As a result, demand more than doubles. The
biggest contributors to demand growth will be Saudi Arabia and Iran. Between them, they
will account for about 45% of MENA energy demand in 2030, the same as today.
Most MENA countries will continue to rely almost exclusively on oil and natural gas to
meet their energy needs. Gas will overtake oil by 2020 as the regions main energy source
for domestic use, thanks partly to policies aimed at freeing up oil for export. Despite rapid
growth in MENA energy use, average per capita consumption projected for 2030 will still be
barely half the current level in OECD countries, though consumption will remain very high
in the Gulf states. The power and water sectors will absorb a growing share of the regions
total primary energy use as electricity and desalinated water needs expand rapidly. Heavy
subsidies to both services are accentuating this trend.
Output of oil and natural gas in the MENA region is poised for rapid expansion. Reserves
are large and costs are lower than in most other parts of the world. In the Reference Scenario,
oil production (including natural gas liquids) is projected to rise from 29 mb/d in 2004 to 33
mb/d in 2010 and to 50 mb/d by 2030. Saudi Arabia, which has the largest proven reserves
of oil in the world, will remain by far the largest supplier. Its output will rise from 10.4 mb/d
in 2004 to 11.9 mb/d in 2010 and just over 18 mb/d in 2030. Iraq is expected to see the
fastest rate of production growth, and the biggest increase in volume terms after Saudi
Arabia. In some countries, including Iraq, increased production will hinge on large-scale
foreign investment. These trends will boost MENAs share of world oil production from
35% in 2004 to 44% in 2030.
MENA oil production will outpace the growth in domestic demand, allowing the regions
net oil exports to rise by three-quarters from 22 mb/d in 2004 to 39 mb/d by 2030. Most
exports will still be as crude oil in 2030, but refined products will account for a growing
share. Exports to developing Asian countries will increase most, but will grow to all the
major consuming regions.
MENA production of natural gas is projected to grow even more rapidly than that of oil,
trebling over the projection period to 1210 billion cubic metres in 2030. The biggest volume

2
increases in the region occur in Qatar, Iran, Algeria and Saudi Arabia. The bulk of the
increase in MENA output will be exported, mostly as liquefied natural gas. Demand for the
regions gas will be driven by strong global demand and dwindling output in many other
gas-producing regions.
Net gas exports from MENA countries to other regions are projected to more than quadruple
to 440 bcm in 2030, with a marked shift in sales to Europe and the United States. Europe
will remain the primary destination for North African gas exports. Major oil and gas
importers, including most OECD countries and South Asia, will become ever more
dependent on imports from MENA countries.
MENA oil- and gas-export revenues, which have surged in the last few years, will remain
high. Aggregate MENA oil and gas revenues are projected to rise from about $310 billion in
2004 to $320 billion in 2010 and $635 billion in 2030. Natural gas will make a growing
contribution. Cumulative revenues will far exceed the investment needed to make them
possible. Total oil and gas investment is projected to amount to about $1 trillion over the
period 2004-2030 (in year-2004 dollars), or $39 billion per year.

The Impact of Deferred Oil Investment

Securing reliable and affordable energy will hinge on adequate investment. The rate of
investment in developing crude oil production capacity in the Middle East is particularly
important for world energy markets. Current rates of investment in that region are not high
enough to meet the gap that is expected to open up between global oil demand and oil-
production capacity in other parts the world. Without urgent and sizable increases in Middle
East investment, a shortfall in production capacity will emerge and prices will rise and
become more volatile to the long-term economic detriment of both producers and
consumers. Under-investment also carries short-term security risks. The relatively low level
of spare oil-production capacity currently available to counteract any unexpected loss of
supply has resulted from many years of under-investment. This increases the likelihood that
the sudden loss of even a modest volume of oil will lead to a very sharp increase in prices.
A major shortfall in MENA investment in upstream oil would radically alter the global
energy balance. Our Reference Scenario projections involve a doubling of the rate of
upstream investment in MENA countries. It is far from certain that all that investment will
be forthcoming: MENA governments could choose deliberately to develop production
capacity more slowly than we project in our Reference Scenario. Or external factors such as
capital shortages could prevent producers from investing as much in expanding capacity as
they would like. The Deferred Investment Scenario analyses how energy markets might
evolve if upstream investment in each MENA country were to remain constant as a share of
GDP at the average level of the past decade. This would result in a $110 billion, or 23%,
drop in cumulative upstream MENA investment over 2004-2030.
Lower investment on this scale would cause MENA oil production to drop by almost a third
by 2030 compared with the Reference Scenario. Production falls further than investment by
the end of the projection period because of the cumulative effect over the projection period.
In 2030, total MENA output reaches 35 mb/d, compared with 50 mb/d in the Reference
Scenario. MENAs share of world oil production drops from 35% in 2004 to 33% in 2030 (it
rises to 44% in the Reference Scenario). As a result, MENA oil exports are almost 40%
lower in 2030. By contrast, higher prices stimulate an 8% increase in non-MENA oil
production. The average IEA import price increases gradually over time relative to the
Reference Scenario and is almost one-third higher in 2030. The prices of gas and coal also
increase. Gas production in MENA countries also falls significantly, due to lower global
demand and lower output of associated gas, causing the regions gas exports to fall by 46%.
As a result of higher prices and lower world GDP, global energy demand is reduced by
about 6% in 2030, compared with the Reference Scenario. On average, demand growth is

3
0.21 percentage points lower over the projection period. World GDP growth, the main driver
of energy demand, is on average 0.23 percentage points per year lower. Among the primary
fuels, global demand for oil falls most. At 105 mb/d in 2030, world oil use is 10 mb/d lower.
Demand for both gas and coal also falls, mainly as a result of lower demand for fuel inputs
to power generation.
Our analysis suggests that MENA producers would lose out financially were investment to
be reduced in the way assumed in the Deferred Investment Scenario. Over 2004-2030, the
cumulative value of aggregate MENA oil- and gas-export revenues would be more than a
trillion dollars lower (in year-2004 prices) than in the Reference Scenario. The loss of
revenues is almost four times more than the reduction in investment. Revenues also fall in
terms of net present value.
Uncertainty about future supply-side infrastructure investments is by no means limited to the
Middle East or to crude oil production. The prospects for urgently needed investment in new
refining capacity are clouded by environmental restrictions and local opposition, especially
in OECD countries. Under-investment in gas-production facilities and transmission pipelines
in Russia and Central Asia threatens to create a supply crunch in the next few years. The
lack of competition in the Russian gas sector is an impediment to the efficient and timely
development of Russian and Central Asian gas resources. And current capital flows to the
electricity sector in many countries notably in the poorest developing regions cannot
even maintain system reliability, let alone meet the increasing demands of economic and
population growth.

Growing Energy Security and Environmental Concerns

Over time, consuming countries will grow increasingly reliant on oil and gas imports from
an ever-smaller group of suppliers notably Russia and the big Middle East producers.
Expanding trade is to be welcomed as it binds suppliers and customers in mutually
beneficial relationships. But, at the same time, the risk of a major supply disruption
whether from terrorism, piracy, accidents, severe weather, political tensions or war will
undoubtedly increase. The recent terrorist attack on the processing facility at Abqaiq in
Saudi Arabia provided a graphic illustration of the terrorist threat to energy infrastructure.
Russias decision to cut off gas supplies to Ukraine in early 2006 called into question its
reputation as a reliable supplier and raised doubts about how Europe would deal with a more
prolonged disruption.
Further cause for concern is the growing reliance on strategic transportation channels
through which almost all the oil and gas exported by Middle Eastern countries must flow.
Consuming countries vulnerability to a disruption in supplies from that region will,
therefore grow as will the risk that some producing countries may use their dominant
market position to raise prices or to withhold supplies for political reasons. Diversity of
sources, of suppliers and of routes is crucial.
Consuming countries must identify policies and measures aimed at reducing the risk of
disruptions and higher prices, as well as mitigating their consequences. They need to
strengthen their ability to handle a supply emergency, including maintaining adequate
volumes of strategic stocks. For example, total oil stocks in the OECD would need to rise, in
the Reference Scenario, to 3.7 billion barrels in 2030 for them to be equal to 90 days of net
imports 1.1 billion barrels more than in 2003. Consuming-country governments also need
to consider long-term policies that promote further diversification of their energy supplies as
a means of both lowering their vulnerability to supply disruptions and of addressing
environmental challenges, including rising greenhouse-gas emissions. Reducing dependence
on oil and gas through diversification of fuels and their geographic sources and more
efficient use of energy must be central to long-term policies aimed at enhancing energy
security.

4
But consumer country concerns are not limited to energy security. Because energy
consumption accounts for approximately 80% of global GHG emissions, consumer
governments are under increasing pressure to take steps to reduce or mitigate the effects of
domestic energy consumption. The G8 leaders, meeting with leaders from several key
developing countries at Gleneagles in July 2005, acknowledged as much when they called
for stronger action to combat rising consumption of fossil fuels and related greenhouse-gas
emissions.
The World Alternative Policy Scenario takes into account all the new measures that
governments are currently considering to curb energy use and to reduce emissions for
energy-security and environmental reasons. Under these new assumptions, primary energy
demand grows by 1.2% per year to 2030, 0.4 percentage points less than in the Reference
Scenario. Demand for oil would be 10% lower in 2030 than in the Reference Scenario, but
oil would still account for 34% of world primary energy demand. Two thirds of the savings
would come from the transport sector. Natural gas demand in 2030 would also be 10% lower
in 2030 than in the Reference Scenario. Most of the savings would come from power
generation.

Oil/Gas Demand in the Reference and Alternative Policy Scenarios

140 6 000

120 5 000
12.1 mb/d
500 bcm
100
4 000
80
m 3 000 bc
b/ m
60
2 000
40

20 1 000

0 0
Oil Gas

2004 2030 Reference Scenario 2030 Alternative Scenario

Source: IEA World Energy Outlook 2005: Middle East and North Africa Insights

The results suggest that importing countries aggregate dependence on MENA could be
sharply reduced in the long term. In this scenario, world energy demand in 2030 falls even
more relative to the Reference Scenario than in the Deferred Investment Scenario. The fall in
the share of oil and gas in primary energy demand in oil-importing regions an indicator of
vulnerability to supply disruptions is also larger in most regions than in the Deferred
Investment Scenario. MENA oil production is lower than in the Reference Scenario, but still
grows by more than 50%, or 16 mb/d, between 2004 and 2030.
In practice, the policies of producing and consuming countries will change over time in
response to each other, to market developments and to shifts in market power. If MENA

5
upstream investment falters and prices rise, the more likely it becomes that consuming
countries will adopt additional policies to curb demand growth and reliance on MENA. This
would have the effect of tempering the long-term impact on prices of lower MENA
investment. It would also amplify the depressive effect of higher prices on oil and gas
demand. The more successful the importing countries policies are, the more likely it is that
the producing countries will adopt policies to sustain their production and their global
market share. Lower prices would result.

Deepening the Consumer-Producer Dialogue

These interactions illustrate the case for improving market transparency, for more effective
mechanisms for exchanging information between oil producers and consumers, and for a
more profound dialogue between them.
The uncertainty surrounding the outlook for global energy markets has rarely been greater.
For as long as the world economy continues to expand, we can be sure that demand for oil
and other forms of energy will increase commensurately. But the rate of growth in primary
energy needs and the mix of fuels will depend on what action governments decide to take to
curb demand and emissions and on developments in energy technology. Other factors,
including extreme weather, natural disasters and geopolitics, will complicate our ability to
anticipate with confidence near- medium- and long-term energy-market developments.
Energy security is more than ever a matter of managing risk and coping with uncertainty.
Deepening the dialogue between oil and gas producers and consumers would help all energy
players handle uncertainty and help industry mobilise much-needed investment. The aim
should be to improve market transparency, by developing more effective ways of
exchanging information, and co-operating on policies to enhance the efficiency of the oil
and gas sector. Producing countries are as much concerned about security of demand as
consuming countries are about security of supply. Working together, consumer and producer
governments can improve the mechanisms by which we meet our common challenges and
achieve mutually beneficial outcomes. But they need to identify this objective as a priority
and take the first steps. And they should start now.

Note: An edited version of this article was published by the Australian Economic Review,
The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social
Research and Blackwell Publishing.