Statistical Abstract » Information and Communication Technology

This chapter contains tables and charts that provide an overview of the energy situation  in ESCWA member countries between 2001 and 2004, focusing on the following areas: crude oil and natural gas reserves; production; trade; refining capacity and output; domestic consumption of and trade in petroleum products; electric power generation; installed capacity and peak load of power stations; electricity generated by different types of turbines; and trends in total and per capita electricity consumption.

Data were collected from primary sources, such as statistical abstracts and bulletins issued by authorities in member countries, and from specialized sources, including the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), and also from highly reputable international sources such as the Oil and Gas Journal and the BP Statistical Review of World Energy. Other sources of data included specialized studies published by ESCWA and international organizations, with priority being given to United Nations sources.

Table V-I shows oil and natural gas reserves in the ESCWA region, highlighting the important role of the region in terms of global energy supply. Thus, in 2004 the region accounted for some 53 per cent of global oil reserves and approximately 26 per cent of global natural gas reserves.

Total energy production is shown in table V-2, which indicates that the ESCWA region accounted for 26 per cent of total world oil production and 9 per cent of  total world natural gas production in 2004.

Crude oil accounted for approximately 83 per cent of total energy production within the ESCWA region in 2004, while natural gas accounted for some 17 per cent and hydroelectricity for less than 1 per cent. Coal consumption was negligible.

Table V-3 shows oil production in the ESCWA region and table V-4 shows gross and marketed natural gas production. Table V-5 provides details of refinery production in the region.

Table V-6 shows electricity generation by type and table V-7 electricity generation in terms of capacity, peak load and production. According to table V-6, hydroelectricity accounted for 4 per cent of the total installed capacity of electric power stations in the region for the period 2003-2004. Thermal electricity accounted for the remaining 96 per cent obtained from steam turbines (47 per cent), gas turbines (24 per cent), combined cycle turbines (8 per cent) and other sources (6 per cent).

Table V-8 shows oil consumption and table V-9 natural gas consumption in the ESCWA region. It may be noted that oil consumption in the region accounted for no more than 4.6 per cent of total world consumption in 2003 (table V-8), while natural gas consumption amounted to some 6.8 per cent of the world total in 2004 (table V-9).

Table V-10 shows electricity consumption by sector in the ESCWA region. Table V-11 provides details of the region’s energy exports and imports, and table V-12 shows its total primary energy consumption. Table V-13 presents details of per capita energy consumption and per capita CO2 emissions in the region.

According to the chart on total primary energy consumption in the ESCWA region, oil accounted for approximately 52 per cent of such consumption in 2003, natural gas for about 46 per cent and hydroelectricity for about 2 per cent, while the share of coal consumption in the total was negligible.