Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

The MENA region which includes Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauretania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen, hold approximately 60% of the world’s oil reserves, and 30% of the world’s gas reserves. The MENA region is highly dependable on the energy sector because it is the basis of its recent development. The energy sector represents approximately 40% of the MENA region’s Gross domestic product (GDP). However, due to rapid increase in population, industrial and agricultural development, electricity consumption has increased dramatically in the region. In fact, the region’s electricity consumption growth rate was registered at 7.9% per year in 2010 while the MENA region’s cumulative GDP growth rate at 3.9% during the same year. With more than half of the world’s proven oil reserves, most investment opportunities in the MENA region are focused on the energy industries. There are many financial products allowing both retail and institutional investors to gain exposure to specific countries’ oil and natural gas markets.