The oil and gas sector in Arab countries has attracted 610 projects implemented by 356 foreign and Arab companies, with a total investment cost of $406 billion between January 2003 and May 2024, a new report has found.
The data is based on the first sectoral report released by the Arab Investment and Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (Dhaman), headquartered in Kuwait City, which has created a database of foreign direct investment projects worldwide.
The United States was named the leading investor in the region’s oil and gas sector by the number of projects, with 85 projects representing about 14% of the total. In contrast, Russia tops the list in terms of investment costs, with 15.2% of the investment, amounting to $61.5 billion.
The report projects that proven oil reserves in the Arab region will decline to 704 billion barrels in 2024, representing about 41.3% of the global total. A continued decline of 7% is expected, bringing reserves to 654.5 billion barrels by 2030, based on Fitch data.
Proven natural gas reserves in the Arab region are also expected to reach about 58 trillion cubic meters, representing 26.8% of the global total. A decline of 7.5% is projected, reducing reserves to 53.53 trillion cubic meters by 2030.
The report further projects 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 approximately 33 million barrels per day by 2030.
