New magazine on renewable energy launched

A prominent Arab oil centre based in Paris has launch a new magazine dealing mainly with issues related to renewable energy following a surge in such projects in the region, the centre’s chairman has said.

The monthly publication replaces the 45-year0old Arab Oil and Gas magazine, the first periodical to cover the hydrocarbon industry in all the countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), said Nicolas Sarkis, chairman of the Arab Petroleum Research Centre (APRC).

In a comment in the new magazine, he said Arab countries have gradually become major players that operate in every sector of the world oil and gas industry, both upstream and downstream after they were “simple tax collectors” when the APRC launched that magazine in mid 1960s.

“To accompany that development and respond to new needs for information and reflection, we have launched five other publications in English, French and Arabic since then, which are in the forefront of the specialist publications read by thousands of companies, organizations and individuals involved in one guise or another in the development of oil and natural gas in the world’s leading hydrocarbon producing and exporting region,” he said.

“Today, a new reality has emerged, namely the keen interest being shown by all Arab countries in the development of new sources of energy on their soil, including solar energy in particular…..everything suggests that this is an irreversible change of direction that will result in an acceleration in the development of renewable energy sources, which is needed to meet the needs of these countries’ domestic markets as well as those of other countries,” he added.

“And it is for that same reason that Arab Oil & Gas Magazine is changing its name this month and is becoming MENA Energies/SolarMed, with the vocation of covering developments in the whole energy sector in Middle Eastern and North African countries, starting with solar energy.”

APRC, which issues many other publications and stages energy conference, acts as an adviser to the Kuwaiti-based Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), which groups 10 regional nations controlling more than 60 per cent of the world’s proven oil deposits.

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