68
39
th
Annual Report
III.DEVELOPMENTSINOILANDENERGYCONSUMPTION
IN THE ARAB COUNTRIES
This section highlights energy consumption in the Arab countries
during the period 2008-2012, and the factors influencing the
consumption in 2012. It also reviews the energy consumption by
primary energy sources both at the level of the Arab countries as a
whole, and at the level of OAPEC member countries.
Arab Countries
1.
1-1 Total and per capita Energy Consumption by Source
There are three basic factors that affect positively or negatively the
consumption of energy in any country or region in the world. These
factors are GDP, population and energy prices on local markets. There
is a direct correlation between the change in energy consumption and
the change in each of the first two factors (GDP and population).
While there is an inverse relationship between the change in energy
consumption, and the change in energy prices.
The first factor shows in general the economic activity. In the case
of economic prosperity demand for energy will increase, in contrast,
demand for energy will decrease in the case of economic downturn
due to political unrest or social transformations
The second factor is the growth in population, which represents
an important element as it puts a permanent pressure on the demand
for energy, especially in Arab countries which experience relatively
high rates of population growth.
The third factor is the energy prices in the local markets. It’s
very well known that demand for energy is inversely proportional
