China, Japan, Korea; green energy development, then export throughout Asia - Green Oil in the Gulf: Oman's Role as Regional Innovator
Published 7 March 2014
Introduction
Wings of change are blowing over the sands. Oman has been the second Gulf country in criticizing the regional model of economic growth based on governmental subsidies and hyper-consumption. During the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference Al-Rumhy, Oman's minister of oil and gas stated that the current waste of energy and resources along with subsidizing policies is unsustainable. The same opinion was expressed one month earlier by Sheikh Jaber al Mubarak al Sabah, prime minister of Kuwait. Despite the big differences between Oman and Kuwait in terms of reserves of oil and gas, this political discourse starts to set the first steps in criticizing the current model of economic growth and socio-political development. New proposals have to be developed.
The MENA region has historically served as a significant energy source for Europe, Asia and the United States. The past three years, however, have challenged route stability within the Arab world through the so-called Arab Spring, which has severely affected the commercial integrity of oil states such as Libya and Iraq. Waves of revolution have also been felt throughout the Arabian Gulf, leading to the politicisation of hydrocarbons, the most valuable resource for oil states. The 'oil curse' has been emphasised in the Gulf especially by recent cyber-attacks on oil installations in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, undertaken by politically motivated splinter groups.
However, the Gulf States will eventually experience longer term energy issues. The predicted slowing of global oil demand is a reminder of oil's fluctuating value and of its finite status. As Gulf States and other actors face the inevitable drying up of oil and gas fields, some experts have turned to renewables as an alternative energy buttress that must be developed now to meet increasing power consumption in domestic and regional markets. The Gulf States make for an interesting site due to exposure to long hours of sunshine, spread evenly throughout the year. Such an advantage may allow Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) to provide a stable alternative fuel source that can help meet domestic energy consumption and even create a new source of energy exportation in the long term.
Footnotes omitted from this introduction.