Middle East as energy consumer

The Middle East, long recognised as a top oil producer, is taking on a new role as one of the world's fastest-growing regions for energy consumption. The increased clip at which it burns petroleum - twice its historical average and close to the growth rate of the Asia-Pacific region - is contributing to tight oil supplies around the globe while demand continues to rise in the United States and China. The growing thirst for fuel in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait reflects strong economic growth induced by soaring global energy prices. Another factor is that US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan greatly depend on diesel and jet fuel.

With the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries pumping as much as it can, analysts believe the group should be able to put a floor underneath prices wherever it sees fit. Opec's president, Nigerian Oil Minister Edmund Daukoru, recently suggested that the group is comfortable with an average price of $60 a barrel.

The six GCC countries are in the midst of an economic boom that brought them an estimated $300 billion in oil revenues last year, which has, in turn, helped convert desert towns into some of the fastest-growing cities in the world. Dubai - which has little oil of its own - has attracted much of the investment.

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