| المستخلص: |
شكل النفط والغاز المصدر الأساس للثروة والدخل في معظم البلدان العربية طيلة العقود الستة الأخيرة، وقد ساهم قيام وتطور الصناعات البترولية في هذه البلدان في تطوير المستوى المعاشي لسكانها، وغدا قطب جذب للمواطنين العرب من الدول التي تفتقر إلى الثروة النفطية، وبذلك حدث نوع من تقاسم الثروة النفطية، عم مختلف مناطق الوطن العربي، ولم يقتصر الأمر هنا على تحويلات العاملين، بل ظهر هناك تعاون عربي يزداد قوة ومتانة في مجالات الطاقة المختلفة، ومنها صناعات النفط والغاز الطبيعي، حيث شهد هذا المجال تنام مطرد للتعاون والتنسيق الثنائي ومتعدد الأطراف، وبرزت مشاريع عربية مشتركة، ومدت خطوط إمداد ونقل للنفط والغاز عابرة للحدود بين الدول العربية. تسعى هذه الدراسة إلى رسم ما أنجز في هذا الصدد، والآفاق المبشرة بمزيد من التكامل.
The study examines the role of oil and natural gas in the promotion of energy cooperation among Arab countries by reviewing Arab joint projects, both existing or under consideration. It also examines the reality of the joint ventures established by the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) and their role in promoting such cooperation and its prospects. The first part of the study focuses on the importance of Arab cooperation in the field of oil and natural gas. Part II reviews the oil and gas pipeline projects, current or planned. Part III focuses on other aspects of cooperation along the whole chain of supply Part IV gives an overview of the current position of the OAPEC joint ventures. Part V briefly examines prospects of future Arab cooperation in the field of oil and natural gas and factors that may contribute to increasing its pace. This is followed by a summary and conclusions Oil and gas play an important role in stimulating economic progress in the Arab world. Revenues derived from their export constitute the backbone of the economies of most Arab countries. Indeed, the oil industry has contributed in recent decades to an unprecedented economic and social change in the region. Activity related to the the industry is also the basis of growing cooperation between Arab countries. The oil industry encorporates a series of stages that provide multiple possibilities for cooperation at the bilateral, regional and even international levels. To diversify their sources of income and maximize the value added of their energy resources, the Arab oil and gas exporters have not hesitated to inject huge amounts of money into each stage of this industry. As a result, they became the owners and managers of large projects at each stage of the supply chain: upstream, midstream and downstream. Most facilities are under the control of national oil companies (NOCs), that manage large reserves of oil and natural gas. The NOCs have become the main contractors of all upstream activities (exploration, and production), the midstream (transport by pipeline, and tankers), the downstream, ie, refining and petrochemical industries that use local oil and gas as feedstock and providing distribution facilities that are at the end of each stage. This has helped to connect multiple economic sectors by an extensive network of integrated industries, which led, in turn, to the creation of opportunities for cooperation among Arab countries. Despite its recent history in the Arab world, compared with the oil, natural gas, has contributed significantly to the impetus for cooperation among Arab countries in recent years. Associated gas was previously a neglected by-product of oil extraction. This changed due mainly to the soaring of the oil prices and the measures taken by some Arab countries to deregulate their economies. However, the 2008 financial crisis shoke the global economy and led to a consequent decline in demand for oil and gas, consequent the drop of oil prices resulted in the postponement or cancellation of several projects. Most effected were private sector companies due to their relatively modest financial situation.
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