MENA energy industry needs substantial capital investment post-COVID: APICORP

MENA energy industry needs substantial capital investment post-COVID: APICORP

Countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) will require substantial capital input from the private sector to develop their energy sectors over the next five years following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP), said in a report.The energy sector, both globally and in the region, saw a 20 percent year-on-year decline in investments and is facing a recovery that is expected to take longer than the post-2014 oil price collapse, the Saudi-headquartered multilateral development bank said in the report highlighting emerging trends within the energy investment and financial landscape in the MENA region in 2021 and beyond.As a result, the energy sector is undergoing a major transformation, or a 'Global Reset' as it has come to be known - that will likely result in industry consolidations, mergers and acquisitions and strategic jostling and repositioning by industry players, APICORP said.Video: MENA energy industry needs private sector capital investmentsMore investments requiredDr. Leila R. Benali, chief economist at APICORP, said:  "The current vicious circle of low revenue, low investment, low output needs to be broken, and a virtuous cycle of investments in lower cost, lower carbon, sustainable assets needs to be induced.“This gives low-cost oil and gas and