Reshuffling Energy Cards in the Middle East and North Africa region: snapshots

As part of the Ifri Energy Breakfast Roundtables, a seminar with Antoine Halff, Head of the Oil Industry and Markets Division/Editor, Oil Market Report, International Energy Agency (IEA), Francis Perrin, President and Director of the Publication and Redaction of Stratégies et Politiques énergétiques, Paris, Chief Editor, Arab Petroleum Research Center and Maïté de Boncourt, Redearch Fellow, Ifri Center for Energy. Chaired by: Maïté Jauréguy-Naudin, Director of the Center for Energy, Ifri and Jacques Lesourne, President of the Scientific Committee of the Center for Energy, Ifri.

Turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa region has been watched closely by energy actors as the cards are being reshuffled. New opportunities are arising in countries that used to attract reduced interest as shown by the successful Egyptian oil licensing round. In the eastern Mediterranean, huge gas finds are increasingly driving investments in Israel, Cyprus, Turkey and even Malta; Libyan production is also back on the market; new oil and gas production comes from Iraq"s huge reserves; finally new entrants are now competing on the Mediterranean markets, affecting the established game between supermajors. On the other hand, regional rivalries and tensions with Iran resulted in a hike in prices. Iran"s nuclear programme, the resulting embargo on the country"s oil and gas exports - which led to losses almost as big as Libya - and the Iranian threat to close the straight of Ormuz - where 20% of global oil consumption transit daily along with Qatar"s LNG production - are pushing oil prices up. Through different angles, this conference will touch on different aspects of the situation, looking at new investment opportunities and risks, and analyzing the world oil market system"s response and overall ability to cope with these events.