Oxford Energy Podcast – Energy Transition Post-Pandemic in the Gulf: Clean Energy, Sustainability and Hydrogen

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated challenges faced by hydrocarbon exporters in the Gulf owing to the global push to transition to cleaner energy sources.  In this podcast, Manal Shehabi (OIES) discusses with David Ledesma a recent OIES-KFAS workshop held in April 2021 titled “Energy Transition Post-Pandemic in the Gulf States,” held with support from the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS).  They discuss separate but interrelated issues on clean energy, economic and climate sustainability, and hydrogen.  Specially, they examine how the global energy transition outlook has changed post-pandemic, along with its impacts on Gulf States’ economies and energy transition projects.  They explain implications to Gulf states’ sustainability, evaluating whether these countries are fiscally sustainable post-pandemic and their urgent need for energy and economic diversification.  They focus in on the possibility of the Gulf States’ using hydrogen to diversify both in domestic and export markets, evaluating opportunities and challenges for both blue and green hydrogen.  A preliminary case study on the economics of hydrogen in Kuwait is highlighted as indication of whether Gulf states can produce green hydrogen competitively.  They conclude with policy recommendations to increase economic sustainability and resilience post-pandemic, both through the energy transition and responses to it.
The podcast can be found on their website