In partnership with the League of Arab States (LAS), the World Bank Group and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) are organizing the first Pan-Arab Energy Trade Conference.
In partnership with the League of Arab States (LAS), the World Bank Group and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) are organizing the first Pan-Arab Energy Trade Conference.
In partnership with the League of Arab States (LAS), the World Bank Group and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) are organizing the first Pan-Arab Energy Trade Conference.
The 2-day conference, convened in Cairo, is a key milestone towards successfully concluding the foundational stage of establishing the Pan-Arab Regional Electricity Market (PAEM).
Delegations from Arab States led by energy ministers in addition to regional and international experts will discuss strategic approaches to gather stakeholders, deepen understanding of national and regional benefits of cross-border electricity and gas trade, and steps towards an enabling environment to align national priorities and regional goals to best exploit energy resources at the Pan-Arab level.
THEME
The main theme of the conference is the effective implementation of regional cooperation in electricity and gas trade among the Arab countries.
The conference is focused on the following areas:
DESIRED OUTCOMES
The conference aims to establish a foundation for creating stronger economic and political cooperation among the countries of the region, build trust in regional electricity and gas trade as a driver for the region’s energy transition and, in the process, to ultimately promote peace and stability in the region.
The expected outcomes of the conference are: (i) PAEM Agreements ratification and pilot pricing mechanism are announced; and (ii) Member States commit to operationalize the PAEM and political interest to advance dialogue on regional gas trade is measured.
A declaration will be issued at the end of the conference to summarize key outcomes and way forward by co-organizers.
STRATEGIC PARTNERS
| Arab Coordination Group (ACG). Coordination body for its member bilateral and multilateral development institutions, led by the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD). AFESD is also funding selected activities of the PA-RETP Initiative. |
| World Bank Group (WBG). With 189 member countries, staff from more than 170 countries, and offices in over 130 locations, the WBG is a unique global partnership: five institutions working for sustainable solutions that reduce poverty and build shared prosperity in developing countries. |
REGIONAL CHAMPIONS
| League of Arab States (LAS). Established in 1945, the LAS is the oldest Arab regional organization. Its membership includes all Arab States. LAS is the Regional Champion of the Pan-Arab Electricity Market Development. |
PA-RETP FUNDING PARTNERS
| Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) is a global, multi-donor technical assistance trust fund administered by the World Bank. |
| Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF) is a multi-donor technical assistance facility that is financed by 11 multilateral and bilateral donors. |
8:15 - 9:00 | Registration |
OPENING SESSION The Strategic Importance of Regional Energy Trade for the Economies of the Arab Countries | |
9:00 - 9:50
| H. E. Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary General of the Arab League, League of Arab States
H. E. Mr. Abdlatif Y. Al-Hamad, Director General/Chairman of the Board of Directors, Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development
Ms. Anna Bjerde, Director, Strategy and Operations, World Bank Group |
| H. E. Dr. Mohamed Shaker El-Markabi, Chair of Executive Bureau of the Arab Ministerial Council for Electricity, and Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Egypt
H. E. Eng. Tarek El Molla, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Egypt |
SESSION 1 Advancing Energy Trade in the Pan-Arab Region: Opportunities and Challenges | |
9:50 - 11:10 | This session will discuss strategic approaches to gather stakeholders, deepen understanding of national and regional benefits of cross-border electricity and gas trade, and steps towards an enabling environment to align national priorities and regional goals to best exploit energy resources at the Pan-Arab level. A presentation will be made to highlight the efforts of the Arab countries to reduce their fuel bills. This includes raising the fuel efficiency of the thermal units, increasing the share of renewables, along with increasing energy trade. A World Bank paper will be presented to contribute to discussions on energy security within the region by highlighting the main impediments to and opportunities for the development of the energy trade, specifically electricity and gas, which are relevant to the discussion on regional integration and their convergence with sustainable development. The paper discusses energy sustainability through the trading system and proposes regional trade means for further enhancing peace and the energy security agenda in the region.
Opportunities and Obstacles in Electricity and Gas Trade in the Arab World H. E. Dr. Fareed Zedan, Former Electricity Regulator, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Creating Regional Momentum for Energy Trade Dr. Paul Noumba Um, Regional Director, Infrastructure, World Bank Group
Panel Discussion • H. E. Eng. Tarek El Molla, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Egypt • H. E. En. Hala Zawati, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Jordan • Representative from the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Environment, Morocco
Moderator: Dr. Mohamed El Sobki, Former Electricity Regulator, Egypt
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11:10 - 11:30 | BREAK |
SESSION 2 The Pan-Arab Electricity Market: Development Institutions’ and Countries’ Perspectives | |
11:30: - 13:00 | Throughout the last four decades, and with the financial support of the various financial institutions, the Arab countries have worked on developing their electric power grid interconnections. The last decade witnessed systematic efforts to quantify the benefits of energy trade, implement the building blocks for institutionalizing electricity trade, and enable commercial transactions. Planners envisage that in the long term a competitive market operation will evolve, benefiting all participants. This session will discuss the role of regional champions and development institutions in advancing dialogue to realize the Pan-Arab Electricity Market vision, supporting the establishment of governance structures and regional institutions, and providing financing for additional cross-border interconnections.
The Pan-Arab Electricity Market: From Vision to Execution and Results Ambassador Dr. Kamal Hassan Ali, Assistant Secretary-General, Head of the Economic Sector, League of Arab States
The Role of Arab Development Institutions in Supporting Electricity Trade Dr. Mohamed Farahat, Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development
The Pan-Arab Regional Energy Trade Platform (PA-RETP) Initiative: Strategic Support and Building Alliances to Facilitate Electricity and Gas Trade Mr. Erik Fernstrom, Energy Practice Manager, World Bank Group
Panel Discussion • H. E. Dr. Mohamed Shaker El-Markabi, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Egypt • H. E. Dr. Luay Al-Khatteeb, Minister of Electricity, Iraq
Moderator: Mr. Alberto Pototschnig, Director, ACER (EU)
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13:00 - 14:30 | LUNCH |
SESSION 3 A Regional Partnership for Gas Trade | |
14:30 - 16:00 | Pan-Arab Regional Gas Trade: Benefits and Opportunities, Barriers and Approaches Mr. Alexander Huurdeman, Senior Gas Specialist, World Bank Group Vision for a Pan-Arab Gas Union, and strategic approaches. Availability of gas for trade, current infrastructure, gas market growth, quick wins, and barriers including: institutional, legal/regulatory, political, pricing and subsidies, security, conflicts, increasing domestic demand, infrastructure deficits and financing.
Regional Gas Hub Development in Egypt Eng. Osama Mobarez, Under-Secretary Technical Office, Ministry of Petroleum, Egypt The Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt is establishing Egypt as a regional gas hub in the Eastern Mediterranean, which will contribute to the Energy Vision 2030 for Egypt. Egypt has the potential to become a regional gas hub, based on the strengths of its domestic gas demand and supply and the ability to share its transportation, processing and export infrastructure for supplies from neighboring countries. Egypt enjoys a strategic location with proximity to the major global trade routes. Recent gas discoveries in the Eastern Mediterranean add more significance to Egypt’s geographical location. Egypt has developed strategic options and is implementing its plan for developing a traded gas hub.
Steps towards a Pan-Arab Gas Market A moderated discussion reflecting different perspectives on next steps to gradually establish a regional gas market and develop an action plan to address the prerequisites for a Pan-Arab gas market vision, i.e. political will to cooperate in Regional Trade Agreements, market-based gas prices across the region, harmonized regulatory environment for trade & supply, and an investment framework for infrastructure. Next steps may involve another event at which roles and actions can be agreed.
Panel Discussion • Mr. Christopher Sheldon, Extractives Practice Manager, World Bank Group • Eng. Hasan Al Heyari, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Jordan
Moderator: Eng. Amira El-Mazni, Vice President for Regulatory Affairs, EGAS |
16:00 - 16:15 | BREAK |
SESSION 4 International Experience in Developing Cross-Border Electricity Markets | |
16:15 - 17:45 | Global experience is most revealing in the sense that there is no evidence to suggest that any of the existing or developing regional integration schemes got the model right at the initial stage of integration. It is nevertheless clear that learning from other people’s mistakes enables policy makers to avoid wasting time and resources. The more successful schemes are the ones that pursue an adaptive approach and adjust their course when needed, and that remain persistent in dealing with challenges, both foreseen and unforeseen. In this session, officials will share experiences in their respective electricity power pools throughout the stages of setting up and operating their markets, with emphasis on lessons learned (successes and failures), what could have been done better, and the relevance of the experience to the Arab region.
Panel Discussion • Dr. Nasser Al-Shahrani, Deputy CEO, GCC Interconnection Authority • Eng. Stephen Dihwa, Coordination Center Manager, South African Power Pool • Mr. Alberto Pototschnig, Director, ACER (EU) • Mr. Ahmed Taba Lehbib, Technical Advisor to President of SEMAF (part of OMVS) • Mr. Ashley Brown, Executive Director, Harvard Electricity Policy Group, USA
Moderator: Eng. Youssef Al-Janahi, Team Leader, PAEM Study
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Declaration Announcement | |
17:45 - 18:00 | Speaker: Eng. Jamila Matar, Director of Energy, League of Arab States.
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18:00 - 19:30 | RECEPTION |
SESSION 1 Key Principles for Regional Electricity Trade Institutions and Regulations | |
08:30 - 10:00 | There is no unique regional power market design, institutions, or processes, and no hard-and-fast rules about issues such as ownership, financing, and pricing that will ensure the success of regional integration efforts. The approach to regional market development must be tailor-made to suit the circumstances. Particularly essential is addressing the need to establish the required regional institutions as well as a common regulatory framework at the regional level. This session will present the role of a robust regulatory framework for dealing with the costs and revenues associated with international trade as well as incentive structure at the national level necessary for conducting international trade. The role of regional as well as national institutions with a clear mandate to engage and pursue commercial trade will also be discussed.
SIEPAC Experience H. E. Eng. Luis Alfonso Chang, Minister of Energy and Mines, Guatemala
The Envisaged Institutional and Regulatory Framework of the PAEM Dr. Dalal Helmi, Head PAEM Steering Committee
The US and EU Experience Dr. José Ignacio Pérez Arriaga, Visiting Professor, MIT
Impact of Scaling Up Renewables on Regional Trade Dr. Samir AlKotob, Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development Mr. Bruno Cova, Systems Planning Director, CESI
Moderator: Mr. Erik Fernstrom, Energy Practice Manager, World Bank Group |
10:00 - 10:30 | BREAK |
SESSION 2 Investments in Regional Infrastructure to Realize Electricity Trade Benefits | |
10:30 - 12:00 | Optimization of generation and transmission investment on a regional, rather than national, basis can offer substantial cost reductions. But these cost reductions often go unrealized when countries follow national priorities, including domestic energy security, economic nationalism, and sovereignty concerns. Recognizing as legitimate and appropriately addressing these and other important national priorities is essential to achieving regional investment optimization and the full benefits of regional integration. This session will discuss the key role of development institutions in establishing the approaches for common practices to plan and finance regional investments, and to benefit from the interplay of public and private financing at the country and regional levels.
Role of Development Institutions in Financing Cross-Border Electricity Interconnections Mr. Belkacem Ouzrourou, Director of Africa Region, OFID
Developing and Financing Regional Electricity Transmission Investments Mr. Jose Ramon Gomez, Lead Energy Specialist, IADB
Updated Regional Investments and Tools to Facilitate Trade in the PAEM Mr. Waleed Alsuraih, Lead Energy Specialist, World Bank Group
Moderator: Ms. Fatouma Toure Ibrahima, Manager, Infrastructure Programs and Analytics, World Bank Group |
12:00 - 12:15 | BREAK |
CLOSING SESSION Takeaways and Way Forward | |
12:15 - 13:15 |
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13:15 | LUNCH AND END OF CONFERENCE |
Presentations
By Ashley C. Brown, Executive Director, Harvard Electricity Policy Group Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University
By H. E. Eng. Luis Alfonso Chang, Minister of Energy and Mines, Guatemala
By Jose Ramon Gomez, Lead Energy Specialist, IADB
By Waleed Alsuraih, Lead Energy Specialist, World Bank Group