Arab oil and gas projects draw $406bn investments in 20 years

The oil and gas sector in Arab countries have seen 610 projects being implemented by 356 foreign and Arab companies at a total investment of $406 billion between January 2003 and May 2024, according to a report by Arab Investment and Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (Dhaman).

The United States topped the list as the most important investing country in the Arab region in the oil and gas sector in terms of the number of projects, with 85 projects representing about 14% of the total, stated Dhaman in its first sectoral report on oil and gas in Arab countries for 2024, launched today from its headquarters in Kuwait City.

It added that Russia ranked first in terms of investment costs, with a value of $61.5 billion, representing about 15.2% of the total, according to the database of foreign direct investment projects worldwide.

The report has projected that proven oil reserves in the Arab region will decline to 704 billion barrels in 2024, representing about 41.3% of the global total, with a continued decline of 7% to 654.5 billion barrels expected in 2030, according to Fitch data.

It stated that proven natural gas reserves in the Arab region are also expected to reach about 58 trillion cubic metres, representing 26.8% of the global total, with a decline of 7.5% to 53.53 trillion cubic metres expected in 2030.

The report also projected that Arab countries’ production of crude oil, compressed gas, and other liquids will increase by 6.4% to 28.7 million barrels per day in 2024, reaching about 33 million barrels per day in 2030