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GCC may face gas shortage by 2015 on strong demand
GCC may face gas shortage by 2015 on strong demand Staff Report / 31 August 2013 Gas shortage in the GCC will become more pronounced by 2015 as demand stays strong and supply struggles to keep pace, according to a recent report released by global consultancy firm Booz & Company, The second Power + Water Leader’s Forum will be held on September 23. — Supplied photo The report, entitled “Gas shortage in the GCC — how to bridge the gap”, suggests that increasing power consumption, depleting oil fields, gas exploration and long term gas export commitments have limited the local supply of gas in the region. The report further adds that GCC countries can address the supply demand imbalance by raising local gas prices gradually, improving energy efficiency and investing in alternative methods to overcome the shortage. In an effort to bring the gas sector back on track, Robin Mills, head of consulting at Manaar Energy, will outline recent developments in the GCC gas and power sector and discuss the regional gas supply outlook and its impact on prices at the second Power + Water Leader’s Forum. Taking place on September 23 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, the dedicated conference runs alongside the Power + Water Middle East exhibition, which takes place from September 23 to 25, and will provide an ideal platform for experts to discuss sustainable best practices and innovative solutions across two of the region’s bourgeoning sectors. “The GCC’s gas shortage can be resolved,” said Mills. “But timing is crucial and waiting for solutions to materialise might mean that GCC states will have to burn more valuable liquid fuels to meet demand.” “Governments need a mix of short- and long-term measures to address the gas shortage. They need to invest in new developments to increase production, increase local gas prices steadily to encourage efficiency, and expand the use of alternative sources in the energy mix. Gas-sector investment is expanding rapidly across the GCC. Some of the most interesting projects include the Khazzan tight gas project in Oman, the Bab and Shah sour gas projects in Abu Dhabi and the Emirates LNG import terminal in Fujairah.” Anita Mathews, director of Informa Energy Group, organisers of Power + Water Middle East, said that an alternative energy source now making strides in the region is nuclear. According to research reports, UAE has set an ambitious target of generating one-quarter of its power from nuclear sources over the next 15 to 20 years. To reach this target, Abu Dhabi plans to construct at least six nuclear plants at a cost of more than $5 billion each. Held in strategic partnership with the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority, Power + Water Middle East is supported by the Society of Engineers — UAE and Confederation of Indian Industry, which will be organising a government supported national pavilion at the event. business@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
India PM warns of inflation but reassures on rupee
India PM warns of inflation but reassures on rupee (AFP) / 30 August 2013 India’s premier warned the nation on Friday to brace for higher prices because of the rupee’s plunge to record lows, but he forecast the economy would pick up in the second half of the year. Manmohan Singh, addressing parliament for the first time since the rupee went into a tailspin this month, called the currency’s worst slide against the dollar in nearly two decades “worrying” and a “concern”. But he said actions by his left-leaning Congress-led government to reduce “the unsustainably large” current account deficit, which has undermined the currency, would bear fruit. “We are no doubt faced with important challenges but we have the capacity to address them — it is at times like these that a nation shows what is truly capable of,” he told lawmakers. He warned Indians that the weak rupee “will no doubt lead to some further upward pressure on prices” because of the rise in import prices, especially of fuel. Singh, a reknowned economist hailed for lighting the fuse for India’s fast growth in the 1990s as finance minister, has been under fire as premier with his government hit by a string of corruption scandals that have sapped foreign investor confidence. He skirted opposition charges that the rupee’s woes were due to the government mismanagement and blamed the fall on tensions over Syria and a pick up in the US economy that is expected to lead to an end to the Federal Reserve’s stimulus. Seeking to put a positive spin on the volatile exchange rate, he suggested that the currency’s decline could prove a blessing as it would make India’s exports cheaper and help revive economic growth. Growth data for the first financial quarter to June, due later Friday, would be broadly unchanged from the previous quarter’s 4.8 percent, he said, but the economy would accelerate in the second half. “Growth will pick up in the second half barring extreme unforeseen eventualities,” he said, adding the strong annual monsoon would boost harvests and help reduce food inflation. “The stabilisation process which should support the value of the rupee is underway… the currency markets will recover,” he added. Foreign exchange markets have a “notorious history of overshooting, this is what is happening in relation to the rupee,” he said, adding, it is important to recognise that “the fundamentals of the Indian economy continue to be strong.” After his speech, the rupee was trading at 66.64 to the dollar; down from its day’s low of 67.80 rupees and still comfortably stronger than the record near 69 rupees it touched on Wednesday. Continue reading
Dubai’s liveability score rises
Dubai’s liveability score rises Ahmed Shaaban / 30 August 2013 While cities around the globe compete in providing the best living conditions, Dubai came third among the top ten in terms of improved liveability scores over the last five years. Ranking 77 out of 140 cities worldwide, the overall rating of the emirate touched 74.2 on a scale of 100, according to the latest findings of The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Ranking. Assessing liveability has a broad range of uses, from benchmarking perceptions of development levels to assigning a hardship allowance as part of expatriate relocation packages. Expecting a brighter future for Dubai, Roua Ramadan, a pharmacist from Egypt, said this was normal for the every developing emirate. “Since I have arrived here in Dubai in 2005, I can closely see exceptional and fast developments in every nook and corner.” Echoing the same, Wafaa Mohammed, a teacher, also from Egypt, said it had always been a dream for her to live and work in Dubai to enjoy a more stable, safe, and secure society with better and varied services. “Believe me, most of the services I and my family members enjoy here are not available in my home country.” Sharief Al Wakeel, a Syrian accountant, said protests made the world less liveable, and people felt more unsafe. “Wish the whole world would be an oasis for safety, security, welfare and prosperity as is the case in Dubai.” “The prudent leadership of the UAE in general, and Dubai in particular, has created a leader in each and every Emirati national who has become more loyal and loving to his/her country, and take the responsibility in protecting and keeping up such progress,” said Wael Safwat, a businessman from Morocco. The rating, part of the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey, quantifies the possible challenges to an individual’s lifestyle in 140 cities worldwide. Each is assigned a score for over 30 qualitative and quantitative factors across five broad categories: Stability, Healthcare, Culture and Environment, Education, and Infrastructure. Each factor in each city is rated as acceptable, tolerable, uncomfortable, undesirable or intolerable. For qualitative indicators, a rating is based on the judgment of in-house analysts and in-city contributors. The relative performance of a number of external data points is associated with quantitative indicators. Melbourne is ranked the most liveable city for the third year running in the year-on-year survey, followed by Vienna and Vancouver. Jon Copestake, editor of the survey, said the past five years had seen global liveability slip by 0.6 per cent, led by a 1.3 per cent fall in the score for stability and safety. “The Arab Spring has been most influential in pushing down global liveability, but unrest in Europe and China have also contributed whereas the ongoing civil war in Syria has made Damascus the least liveable city in the ranking.” While the threat of terror had a defining influence on liveability in the last decade, we could clearly see that civil unrest already had a significant impact on liveability in this decade, he added. ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
