Saudi Arabia has been able to score higher than other hydrocarbon producers in many indicators related to the emissions performance of the oil and gas sector.
Over the past year, the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have updated their medium-term greenhouse gas emissions targets by submitting revised nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.
The Kingdom, the UAE, and Bahrain announced their targets for zero-emissions neutrality in the middle of the century.
A recent study issued by the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) focused on how the GCC countries manage their energy and emissions and how they are in a position to advance towards circular economies of carbon or zero neutrality.
The study indicated that the first version of the Circular Carbon Economy Index (CCE) showed that the GCC countries’ ranks range from the twelfth to the twenty-seventh, with the UAE ranking the highest and Oman the lowest.
The study found that although each country will have its unique pathway to net-zero and CCEs, the GCC countries share several structural and other similarities, which create opportunities for both sharing lessons and cooperating on the road to net-zero emissions.
The paper found that, although as a group, the GCC countries outperform their non-OECD peers and neighbors in the Middle East and Africa region in most areas measured by the CCE Index, they should undertake further efforts if they wish to improve their position in the global CCE transition.
A Fellow II in the Climate and Sustainability Program, and a co-author of the paper, Mari Luomi, said that using the circular carbon economy concept can help countries increase their ambition in their climate goals and targeted actions.
Luomi noted that it broadens the scope of the available technology options.
She indicated that the circular carbon economy in the Gulf region could help achieve buy-ins from many industries with limited and cost-effective options to decarbonize without using fossil fuels.
Fatih Yilmaz, another co-author, noted that a critical enabler of circular carbon economies, the GCC countries’ average is higher than their non-industrialized peers but lower than those of the world’s top 20 oil producers.
The third co-author, Thamir al-Shehri, stressed that Saudi Arabia achieves higher scores than other hydrocarbon producers in many indicators of the oil and gas sector’s emissions performance.
The Kingdom’s exports of hydrocarbons will enjoy a competitive advantage as the country pursues full circularity, or net-zero emissions, according to Shehri.
Meanwhile, Saudi Industrial Production Index (IPI) increased by 17.7 percent compared to July 2021 in light of favorable growth rates due to the high production in mining & quarrying, manufacturing activity, and electricity and gas supply.
The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) issued Sunday its monthly bulletin for July, showing that mining and quarrying grew by 14.1 percent compared to July 2021 as Saudi Arabia increased its oil production to its highest level by more than 10 million barrels per day in July 2022.
The manufacturing activity increased by 32.6 percent compared to the same month of the previous year. The electricity and gas supplies rose by 5 percent.
Compared to June 2022, the overall IPI increased by 1.6 percent mining and quarrying showed a month-on-month growth rate of 1.6 percent, while the manufacturing sector grew 0.3 percent, and electricity and gas supplies saw a 14.6 rise.
The impact of growth in the electricity and gas supplies index on the IPI was limited due to its small weight in the index.
The General Authority for Statistics issues several statistical products related to the industry, including the Industrial Production Index (IPI).
The IPI is an economic indicator that reflects the relative changes in the volume of industrial output. It is calculated based on the industrial production survey.
The IPI data is based on the International Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities (ISIC 4), and the index is published monthly.
