Research Library

This article argues that Sultan Sa‘id bin Taymur played a more fundamental role in developing Oman than what is commonly portrayed.

The authors examine the legacy and outcomes of Japanese foreign direct investment in the Persian Gulf from the late 1950s until the early 1980s.

For petrostates like Saudi Arabia, new tactics and strategies will be needed to recapture the strategic interest of global powers, and to cope with the transition away from fossil fuels. Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, Fall 2020.

Climate change poses a strategic dilemma for Gulf oil-exporting states. The author analyzes the risks of climate (in)action for regimes who must weigh the costs of decarbonization against the costs of climate change. British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies: http://bit.ly/30udfxC

The author examines Saudi Arabia's climate strategy as part of an Oxford Institute for Energy Studies report on economic diversification in the MENA.

A series of converging trends provided political cover for reforms of long-standing energy subsidies launched by oil-exporting states in the Middle East and North Africa, but the new policies appear to be designed to update — rather than jettison — rent-based autocratic governance.

A combination of factors is encouraging Saudi Arabia to consider raising crude oil production capacity beyond the current ceiling of 12.5 million barrels per day. However, an increase in Saudi crude oil production would have consequences for markets and competing forms of energy, as well as for the kingdom's geopolitical stature, writes fellow Jim Krane in an article for Energy Policy.

Jim Krane, fellow in energy studies, examines how reforms to subsidy programs and increases in gas and electricity prices could lower energy use in the GCC.

Saudi Arabia's role in global energy markets is changing. The kingdom is diverting crude oil into an expanding refining sector and moving beyond its role as global “swing supplier” of crude oil, writes Jim Krane.

Rising populations and growing wealth have coupled with low domestic prices to propel huge increases in energy consumption within the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain. The trend of large and continuing increases in demand threatens assumptions about the sustainability of the region’s oil exports Politically difficult reforms that moderate consumption can extend the longevity of exports, and perhaps, the regimes themselves.