ABU DHABI – The Middle East and North African (MENA) countries are expected to pump nearly $250 billion into power projects over the next five years to expand generation capacity and meet the growing domestic demand. “A total of $250 billion is expected to be pumped into the power sector in the MENA region over the next five years to meet regional electricity demand growth, ” said British PennWell Corporation, organizer of the upcoming 11th Power-Gen Middle East conference which will be held on Feb. 4-6 in Doha, Qatar. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are expected to pump more than $63 billion into electricity projects over the next five years to expand their power generation capacity to meet growing domestic demand. The six countries, which control 40 percent of the world's recoverable oil resources, will add nearly half the expected additional power generation capacity in the region, said a study by the Dammam-based Arab Petroleum Investment Corp (Apicorp). It estimated the total capital in power generation in MENA at $147.5 billion during 2013-2017 to add about 123.9 GW of electricity while the rest could cover water projects. “A regional breakdown shows that about 43 percent of that expansion in MENA is expected in the GCC, which remains the fastest growing area. This should come as no surprise, taking into account its record rates of urbanization and the massive requirements for water desalination and air conditioning.” The study put investments in power projects at around $63.1 billion in the GCC, $36.8 billion in Mashreq (east) Arab nations, $21.4 billion in Iran, $14.6 billion in Maghreb Arab countries and nearly $2.3 billion in other Arab nations. It said that as a result of high population growth, record levels of urbanization, sustained economic growth and pressing needs for air conditioning and seawater desalination, many countries in the region have been struggling to meet demand. In a separate study, Apicorp said the GCC is projected to record the highest power demand growth of around 8.5 percent in the region in the medium term. It put growth at 7.6 percent in Mashreq (Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria), 7.2 percent in other Arab states, seven percent in Iran and 6.5 percent in Maghreb (Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia). Scores of officials and experts from the Gulf and other countries will attend the annual event. Organizers said nearly 200 power projects are on the agenda, which will also discuss new technologies and other power-related issues. “Significant energy-related projects as part of the 200 planned and announced ventures valued between $100 million and $20 billion will be major points of discussion at Power-Gen in Doha,” British PennWell Corporation added. More than 60 distinguished delegates from over 20 countries will speak about a variety of issues, including the challenges and opportunities for power project development, maximizing today's grid potential and tomorrow's alternatives, renewable energy technologies and integration and operation and maintenance. Delegates and visitors will also have the opportunity to view first-hand innovative and cutting-edge products and technologies by over 135 leading regional and international companies including ABB, Ansaldo Energia, Bilfinger Berger Power Service GmbH, Doosan Heavy Industries& Construction, FATA EPC Division of FATA SpA, Northern Technical L.L.C. and SPX. — SG
