Officials and experts from the Gulf and other countries will meet in Doha early next month to discuss several key issues, including renewable energy, amid a reported decline in investment in the renewable energy sector in the Arab region.
Energy projects worth nearly $250bn will be discussed at the 11th Power-Gen Middle East conference, which will be held at Doha’s Qatar National Convention Centre from February 4-6.
Although there was a surge of 17% in such investments worldwide, they receded in most Arab countries - except the UAE and Morocco - in 2011 mainly due to the political turmoil witnessed in some parts of the region.
According to a study by the Saudi-based Arab Petroleum Investment Corporation (Apicorp), global new investment in renewable power and fuels increased by 17% to reach an all-time high of $257bn in 2011. In fact, actual investment in renewable energy amounts to $325bn by adding $68 billion worth of merger and acquisition transactions in 2011, Apicorp points out.
It noted that the regional pattern of investment appeared markedly uneven, with two-third of it originating in developed economies and one-third in the developing ones.
“The lowest level of investment is found in MENA... this poor performance has more to do with policy uncertainty than it does with business motivations,” the report said. According to the report, total renewable energy investment in the Middle East and Africa reached $5.5bn in 2011, representing 2.1% of the world total. This performance was “made even worse by a fall in investment of 18% compared with 2010”.
According to Apicorp, policy uncertainty created by socio-political turmoil in parts of the region has delayed a number of projects. But it also points out that important initiatives have made progress in countries spared by the turbulence, such as in Morocco and the UAE, where investment reached $1.1bn and $0.8bn, respectively.
Organisers say nearly 200 power projects are on the agenda of the conference, which will also discuss new technologies and other issues. “Significant energy-related projects as part of the 200 planned and announced ventures valued between $100mn and $20bn will be major points of discussion,” said PennWell Corporation, which is organising the event. “A total of $250bn is expected to be pumped into the power sector in the MENA region over the next five years.”
More than 100 delegates from over 20 countries will speak on a variety of issues at the conference, which has the support of HE the Minister of Energy and Industry, Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada.