The Impact of the 2020 Oil Production Fluctuations on Methane Emissions over the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries: A Satellite Approach

The COVID-19 outbreak has significantly affected global industrial and transportation markets. Airlines, rails, and cars’ industries and their supporting energy sectors have been substantially disrupted by the pandemic. This has resulted in undermined energy demand around the world during 2019 and 2020. The organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) led by Saudi Arabia failed to persuade Russia to cutback oil supplies to deal with the loss of demand from the COVID-19 pandemic. On 8 March 2020, Saudi Arabia announced a raise in its oil production and offered a large discount on its crude oil sales. By April 2020, Saudi Arabia increased its oil production to about 12 million-oil barrels/day. This rise in oil production has not only resulted in the biggest fall in oil prices since the 1991 Gulf War but also increased methane emissions over the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) regions. Here, we report 2019 and 2020 data set of average seasonal methane-mixing ratio retrieved from TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) on board of S5P spacecraft over 19 refineries and oil fields in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Bahrain. Low methane emissions were recorded over western and central Saudi Arabia compared to the eastern side of the country. In general, high methane emissions were observed in 2020 compared to 2019 around oil refineries and fields in western, central, and eastern regions of Saudi Arabia as well as over other GCC countries. This could be attributed to the oil high production associated with the oil prices fluctuation during 2020.

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Impact evaluation of national nutrition policies to address obesity through implementation of sin taxes in Gulf Cooperation Council countries: Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar

F1000Research ◽

10.12688/f1000research.27097.1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

pp. 1287

Author(s):

Ayoub Al-Jawaldeh ◽

Rania Megally

Keyword(s):

Growth Rate ◽

Saudi Arabia ◽

United Arab Emirates ◽

Eastern Mediterranean ◽

Gulf Cooperation Council ◽

World Health ◽

Data Set ◽

Gcc Countries ◽

Sin Taxes ◽

The Impact

Background: Around 7% of under-five aged children in the Eastern Mediterranean are overweight, and there are higher rates in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. This had led the GCC to impose policies that aim to decrease obesity, overweight, and diabetes rates. The objective of this research is to measure the impact of one such implemented policy to reduce obesity, i.e. sin taxes applied to sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) in GCC. Methods: The impact of sin taxes on SSB has been measured using a panel data set that covers sales volumes of soft drinks in GCC countries from 2010 to 2020. Results: Growth rate of sales volumes decreased from 5.44% to 1.33% in Saudi Arabia, 7.37% to 5.93% in United Arab Emirates, and 5.25% to 5.09% in Bahrain from 2016 to 2017; sin taxes were implemented in these countries in 2017. In Qatar and Oman, sin taxes were implemented in 2019, and a reduction in sales volumes was observed from 2018 to 2019 (Qatar: 2.30% to 3.78%; Oman: 3.60% to 2.99%). Kuwait was the last GCC country to implement sin taxes in 2020. Growth rate of sales volumes decreased from 6.31% to 5.47% from 2019 to 2020. Conclusions: Awareness campaigns should promote the reduction of the consumption of SSB and substitute with more consumption of water, unsweetened milk for children, fresh fruits and vegetables. These recommendations align with the recommended priority actions by the World Health Organization for the strategy on nutrition for the Eastern Mediterranean Region 2020-2030.

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Impact evaluation of soft drink taxes as part of nutrition policies in Gulf Cooperation Council countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates

F1000Research ◽

10.12688/f1000research.27097.2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

pp. 1287

Author(s):

Ayoub Al-Jawaldeh ◽

Rania Megally

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

United Arab Emirates ◽

Mediterranean Region ◽

Eastern Mediterranean ◽

Soft Drink ◽

Eastern Mediterranean Region ◽

Gulf Cooperation Council ◽

Overweight And Obesity ◽

Gcc Countries ◽

The Impact

Background: Prevalence of overweight and obesity is high in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, and there are higher rates in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. This had led GCC countries to impose policies that aim to decrease obesity, overweight, and diabetes rates. The objective of this research is to measure the impact of such implemented policy to reduce obesity, namely taxes applied to sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) in GCC. Methods: The impact of SSB taxes has been measured using a panel data set that covers sales volumes of soft drinks in GCC countries from 2010 to 2020. Results: annual growth in soft drink sales volumes decreased; from 5.44% to 1.33% in Saudi Arabia, 7.37% to 5.93% in United Arab Emirates, and 5.25% to 5.09% in Bahrain from 2016 to 2017. In Qatar, a tax was implemented in 2019, and a reduction in sales volume growth was observed between 2019 and 2020 (3.78% to 2.45%), and in Oman a reduction was observed between 2018 and 2019 (3.60% to 2.99%). Kuwait was the last GCC country to implement taxes in 2020, and the growth in sales volumes decreased from 6.31% to 5.47% from 2019 to 2020. Conclusions: The introduction of health-related taxes on soft drinks has been followed by a drop in the growth rates of sales in GCC countries. This, in turn, can be expected to contribute to a reduction in the prevalence of overweight and obesity, especially when combined with complementary public health policies and interventions. Hence, awareness campaigns should promote the reduction of the consumption sales of SSB and substitute with more consumption of fresh juices. These recommendations align with the recommended priority actions by the World Health Organization Strategy on nutrition for the Eastern Mediterranean Region 2020-2030 adopted by the countries of the Region in October 2019.

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Prospects for the Gulf states to end-2017

Emerald Expert Briefings ◽

10.1108/oxan-db221288 ◽

2017 ◽

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

United Arab Emirates ◽

Gulf Cooperation Council ◽

Content Type ◽

Gcc Countries ◽

Oil Revenue ◽

Gulf States

Subject Prospects for the Gulf states to end-2017. Significance Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries agree on the need to check Iran’s regional aspirations, but differ radically on how to achieve this goal -- pushing Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to open confrontation with Qatar and leaving Kuwait and Oman caught uncomfortably in the middle. At the same time, they face the major challenge of adjusting their economies to long-term expectations of lower oil revenue.

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Poorer Oman may align more closely with Saudi Arabia

Emerald Expert Briefings ◽

10.1108/oxan-db263033 ◽

2021 ◽

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

United Arab Emirates ◽

Oil Prices ◽

Gulf Cooperation Council ◽

Economic Situation ◽

Regional Environment ◽

Content Type ◽

Economic Problems ◽

Industrial Sectors ◽

Dominant Influence

Significance The sultan this month paid his first foreign visit to Saudi Arabia, establishing institutions for ongoing cooperation. Under the previous ruler, Muscat was wary of Riyadh’s dominant influence in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). However, both the regional environment and Oman’s economic situation are now in a state of flux. Impacts New Saudi investment in Oman would likely focus on the tourism and industrial sectors. Higher oil prices will provide only a temporary reprieve for Muscat’s structural economic problems. Omani interactions with the United Arab Emirates could become more fraught.

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Father Involvement and Education in the GCC

10.18502/aqf.0160 ◽

2020 ◽

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Life History ◽

United Arab Emirates ◽

North Africa ◽

Father Involvement ◽

Educational Achievement ◽

Gulf Cooperation Council ◽

Mena Region ◽

Gcc Countries ◽

Education Environment

This policy brief builds on a larger father involvement study that encompasses 10 countries in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region to identify some of the key challenges of father involvement in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Using mixed methods with a modified Fatherhood Scale survey and life history interviews, the study found notable differences in father involvement in education across geographic, gender, and generational factors. Overall, fathers in GCC countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) tend to be perceived as more encouraging of their children’s education, especially for their daughters, but are less engaged in the types of quality involvement that are key to educational achievement. Based on the findings of this study, this policy brief highlights some of the key challenges of GCC fathers’ involvement. We conclude by offering recommendations to create and support an education environment in the GCC that values quality father involvement.

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Re-Examining Government Revenues, Government Spending And Economic Growth In GCC Countries

Journal of Applied Business Research (JABR) ◽

10.19030/jabr.v29i3.7777 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 29 (3) ◽

pp. 737 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Helmi Hamdi ◽

Rashid Sbia

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

United Arab Emirates ◽

Government Spending ◽

Temporal Relationship ◽

Econometric Model ◽

Gulf Cooperation Council ◽

Government Expenditures ◽

Font Size ◽

Gcc Countries ◽

Toda And Yamamoto

The aim of this paper is to examine the inter-temporal relationship between government revenues and expenditures within a trivariate framework by modeling them together with gross domestic product. Our sample is based on a panel of 6 countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) i.e. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain, for the period from 1990 to 2010. We perform an econometric model based on the Toda and Yamamoto procedure. Our empirical results show that government expenditures Granger cause government revenues for Qatar and the United Arab Emirates only, while government revenues Granger cause government expenditures for Saudi Arabia only. We also found a unidirectional causality running from government expenditures to GDP in Bahrain only. Regarding Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, GDP Granger cause government revenues while GDP Granger cause government expenditures for Oman and Qatar.

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Forecasting the SARS COVID-19 pandemic and critical care resources threshold in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries: population analysis of aggregate data

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044102 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (5) ◽

pp. e044102

Author(s):

Amira K Al-Aamri ◽

Ayaman A Al-Harrasi ◽

Abdurahman K AAl-Abdulsalam ◽

Abdullah A Al-Maniri ◽

Sabu S Padmadas

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Critical Care ◽

Disease Management ◽

Human Resources ◽

United Arab Emirates ◽

Gulf Cooperation Council ◽

Mitigation Strategies ◽

Control Measures ◽

Cumulative Number ◽

Gcc Countries

ObjectiveTo generate cross-national forecasts of COVID-19 trajectories and quantify the associated impact on essential critical care resources for disease management in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.DesignPopulation-level aggregate analysis.SettingBahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.MethodsWe applied an extended time-dependent SEICRD compartmental model to predict the flow of people between six states, susceptible–exposed–infected–critical–recovery–death, accounting for community mitigation strategies and the latent period between exposure and infected and contagious states. Then, we used the WHO Adaptt Surge Planning Tool to predict intensive care unit (ICU) and human resources capacity based on predicted daily active and cumulative infections from the SEICRD model.Main outcome measuresPredicted COVID-19 infections, deaths, and ICU and human resources capacity for disease management.ResultsCOVID-19 infections vary daily from 498 per million in Bahrain to over 300 per million in UAE and Qatar, to 9 per million in Saudi Arabia. The cumulative number of deaths varies from 302 per million in Oman to 89 in Qatar. UAE attained its first peak as early as 21 April 2020, whereas Oman had its peak on 29 August 2020. In absolute terms, Saudi Arabia is predicted to have the highest COVID-19 mortality burden, followed by UAE and Oman. The predicted maximum number of COVID-19-infected patients in need of oxygen therapy during the peak of emergency admissions varies between 690 in Bahrain, 1440 in Oman and over 10 000 in Saudi Arabia.ConclusionAlthough most GCC countries have managed to flatten the epidemiological curve by August 2020, trends since November 2020 show potential increase in new infections. The pandemic is predicted to recede by August 2021, provided the existing infection control measures continue effectively and consistently across all countries. Current health infrastructure including the provision of ICUs and nursing staff seem adequate, but health systems should keep ICUs ready to manage critically ill patients.

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The Moderating Role of Staff Efficiency in the Relationship between Bank’s Specific Variables and Liquidity Risk in Islamic Banks of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries

International Journal of Economics and Finance ◽

10.5539/ijef.v9n12p278 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 9 (12) ◽

pp. 278

Author(s):

Ghanim Shamas ◽

Zairani Zainol ◽

Zairy Zainol

Keyword(s):

Liquidity Risk ◽

Oil Prices ◽

Gulf Cooperation Council ◽

Islamic Banks ◽

Gcc Countries ◽

Oil Revenues ◽

The Impact ◽

The Relationship ◽

Moderating Role

The efficiency of bank’s staff plays a crucial role in managing and mitigating the financial risks like liquidity risk. The aim of this paper is to propose a conceptual model/framework for investigating the moderating role of staff efficiency on the relationship between bank’s specific variables and liquidity risk in Islamic banks in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). GCC economies depend heavily on oil revenues which makes it subject to oil prices fluctuations. Therefore, liquidity in GCC banks, especially Islamic banks almost always suffers liquidity pressure. Thus, the issue of liquidity in this region has grown in importance in light of recent oil decline. Several attempts have been made to investigate the determinants of liquidity risk, yet the findings lack consistency. Most of the previous studies have ignored GCC region and have focused on other environments like credit risk but gave less attention to the moderating role of staff efficiency function in the Islamic banks with respect to liquidity risk. This paper offers a framework by adding a moderator of staff efficiency to the existing models of the bank’s specific determinants of liquidity risk with a particular attention to the GCC countries which are heavily dependent on oil revenues and always are subject to the impact of oil prices instabilities. Many stakeholders should benefit from the outcomes of this study. It should pave the way for bankers, regulators, investors and researchers to have a better understanding and insight about the factors that affect liquidity risk in the aforesaid banks.

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Gulf states set for major spending cutbacks in 2016

Emerald Expert Briefings ◽

10.1108/oxan-db207748 ◽

2016 ◽

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

United Arab Emirates ◽

Government Spending ◽

Oil Prices ◽

Gulf Cooperation Council ◽

Content Type ◽

New Period ◽

Fuel Subsidies ◽

Gulf States ◽

First Time

Significance This comes as Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states begin serious reforms to adapt to a new period of low oil prices. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) led the way in August 2015 by ending fuel subsidies, and Saudi Arabia has just reduced its own. Spending plans are being re-examined and new revenue-raising measures are being discussed seriously for the first time. Impacts Growth will stall in most sectors, particularly those that depend on government spending. Commercial opportunities may arise for companies that can help make efficiency savings or fill capacity gaps. Pressure will grow to end the Yemen war which is a drain on Saudi and UAE finances.

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Middle Eastern countries will diversify energy routes

Emerald Expert Briefings ◽

10.1108/oxan-db239243 ◽

2018 ◽

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Middle East ◽

United Arab Emirates ◽

Middle Eastern ◽

Oil Prices ◽

Gulf Cooperation Council ◽

Arab Countries ◽

Neutral Zone ◽

Content Type ◽

Transit Route

Subject Middle East hydrocarbons routes. Significance Geopolitical uncertainty is increasing in the Middle East due to the confrontation between Iran and its Arab neighbours, and the internal splits within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). These include the breach between Qatar and the group of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain; as well as -- to a much lesser extent -- the Saudi-Kuwaiti Neutral Zone dispute. Impacts Hormuz access will always be indispensable to Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq and Iran itself. Competition will increase around the Bab al-Mandab -- a key secondary energy transit route -- among Turkey, Egypt, Iran and the GCC states. The boycott of Qatar by its neighbours will complicate and weaken Arab countries’ responses to Iran and to higher oil prices.

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