Mapping Energy Landscapes in the Gulf: Systems, Policies, and Transition Pathways

Introduction

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), comprising the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, sits at the core of global energy markets. Together, GCC states supply close to one-third of internationally traded crude oil and a growing share of global liquefied natural gas (LNG), anchoring their continued relevance in an evolving global energy system.^[1] At the same time, each country has articulated long-term national strategies that place energy transition, system efficiency, and economic diversification at the centre of future growth.

Yet the Gulf’s energy transitions are unfolding within a distinct structural context. GCC economies remain highly hydrocarbon-intensive, power systems are overwhelmingly reliant on natural gas, and demand profiles are shaped by rapid population growth, energy-intensive industrialisation, extreme cooling needs, and water desalination. As a result, decarbonisation pathways across the region are less about rapid fuel substitution and more about system optimisation, careful sequencing, and managing structural constraints alongside clean-energy scale-up.

The bloc has accounted for over 55 percent of the region’s growth since 2000 and today represents around 37 percent of the regional Gross Domestic Product (GDP), despite comprising only about 12 percent of the population.^[2] Looking ahead, oil-exporting GCC economies are expected to continue outperforming the wider region, supported by strong non-oil activity and sustained energy revenues. This economic backdrop shapes both the pace and priorities of national energy transitions.

While the Gulf is often discussed as a single energy bloc, its transition pathways diverge sharply at the national level, shaped by the priorities and constraints articulated in its capitals, from Abu Dhabi and Doha to Kuwait City, Manama, Muscat, and Riyadh.

This report provides a country-level primer on the Gulf’s current energy landscapes, tracing how each system has evolved and how national strategies frame the next phase of transformation. It does not assess whether stated targets are sufficient, achievable, or aligned with global climate pathways. Instead, it offers a factual, system-level overview of energy mixes, power-sector structures, policy frameworks, and clean-energy deployment trajectories across the GCC.

For each capital, the analysis is structured consistently across six sections: energy system characteristics and emissions profiles; policy and decarbonisation frameworks; the energy mix; the structure and evolution of the electricity sector; recent energy landscape developments; and the key challenges and systemic constraints shaping future pathways, followed by a forward-looking outlook. Data and indicators are drawn primarily from the latest International Energy Agency (IEA) databases to ensure cross-country comparability and are supplemented by national statistics and sector-specific sources where relevant.

By mapping these foundational elements across countries, the report establishes a baseline for understanding how GCC energy systems are transitioning from strategy formulation toward on-the-ground execution. As regional coordination deepens across grid interconnections, hydrogen and ammonia supply chains, and clean-technology manufacturing, these country profiles provide a reference point for analysing emerging patterns of cooperation, competition, and system divergence within the Gulf.

Read the report here.

Parul Bakshi is Fellow – Energy and Climate, Observer Research Foundation Middle East.

All views expressed in this publication are solely those of the author, and do not represent the Observer Research Foundation, either in its entirety or its officials and personnel.

Endnotes

^[1] Oman Observer. GCC leads global oil reserves and exports. GCC leads global oil reserves and exports https://omanpetroleumandenergyshow.com/newfront/news/13400 (2025).

^[2] IEA. The Future of Electricity in the Middle East and North Africa. (2025).