UNNATURALLY COOL73imbalance. With ever- larger domestic needs in power generation, desal-
ination, and industry, they became net gas importers in 2008. As the
UAE and Kuwait prepared themselves to import gas, the IEA warned
the world that the Gulf region had transformed itself into a major energy-
consuming region and that the supply of cheap associated gas that helped
lead development had run its course.^14
How did some Gulf countries get to the point of becoming net
importers— an idea that would have seemed absurd half a century ago?
WHAT CAUSES HIGH DEMAND?Basic energy economics teaches us that energy demand is a factor of
a handful of variables: population, income, technology, climate, and price.
TABLE 5.3 Gas reserves in the regionNatural gas reserves of the
Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Size (Tcm) Share of world total
Iran 33.5 18.0%
Qatar 24.3 13.0%
Saudi Arabia 8.4 4.5%
UA E 6.1 3. 3%
Iraq 3.7 2.0%
Kuwait 1.8 1.0%
Oman 0.7 0.4%
Ye m e n 0. 3 0 .1%
Bahrain 0.2 0.1%
GCC total 41.5 22.2%
Region total 79.4 42.5%
World tot a l 186 .6 10 0%
Source: BP, Statistical Review of World Energy 2017 (London: BP, 2017).