Beyond the Political Economy of Electricity and Gas Trade in the Middle East and North Africa Region
This note is intended to support ongoing efforts to promote Pan-Arab energy trade by highlighting the role and benefits of intra-regional electricity and gas exchange, with a view to improving energy security in the Middle East and North Africa (ME...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2021
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/412161621217303115/Beyond-the-Political-Economy-of-Electricity-and-Gas-Trade-in-the-Middle-East-and-North-Africa-Region http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35590 |
| Summary: | This note is intended to support ongoing
efforts to promote Pan-Arab energy trade by highlighting the
role and benefits of intra-regional electricity and gas
exchange, with a view to improving energy security in the
Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. After some
background, this note contributes to discussions on energy
security within the region by highlighting various aspects
of the current political economy of the energy sector,
specifically electricity and gas, which are relevant to the
discussion on cooperation for regional integration and their
convergence with sustainable development. This note argues
that, given the benefits of trade and technological
developments outlined herein, the time is right to move from
cooperation agreements towards the operationalization and
implementation of trade by developing the necessary
institutional and regulatory building blocks. Innovative
technologies and wider economic trends are converging in new
ways that amplify synergies within traditional energy
sectors (such as oil, gas, and power) and foster emerging
sectors such as hydrogen. Subsequent sections will review
the state of electricity and gas trade in the region;
sub-regional initiatives to promote interconnections and
market integration; and prospects for these sectors.
However, some general observations can be drawn in advance
about the regional context for overall trade. |
|---|