Picture used for illustrative purposes only.

The oil and gas sector in Arab countries attracted 610 projects implemented by 356 foreign and Arab companies, with a total investment cost of US$ 406 billion between January 2003 and May 2024.

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

The Arab Investment and Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (Dhaman) stated in its first sectoral report on oil and gas in Arab countries for 2024, launched on Wednesday from its headquarters in Kuwait City, that 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 per cent of the total.

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

The report projected that proven oil reserves in the Arab region will decline to 704 billion barrels in 2024, representing about 41.3 per cent of the global total, with a continued decline of 7 per cent 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 per cent of the global total, with a decline of 7.5 per cent to 53.53 trillion cubic metres expected in 2030.

WAM