A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1994

This study is the first of it's kind in attempting to identify performance indicators of the Kingdom's energy sector. The Kingdom's energy sector performance for the 1980/90 decade has been, in some aspects, similar to the trends followed by some developing Asian and Pacific nations, that is, (i) traditional fuels were substituted by commercial energy sources, particularly in the RESCOM and industrial sectors; (ii) the penetration of petroleum products has been strongest in the transportation sector; (iii) the increasing demand for commercial energy has increased the rate of energy dependency; (iv) the energy intensity of traditional fuels was decreasing while the energy intensiveness of commercial energy consumption was growing rapidly; and (v) commercial energy consumption was elastic to the population and prices growths while biomass consumption correlated more with the GDP growth. A forecast of the agricultural sector's energy demand for 2015 showed increased energy demand and expenses which could be self-financed by the sector's anticipated value added. The trend of the energy supply and demand for the 1980/90 decade points to mounting pressures on the Kingdom's energy security, environment and her balance of payments. These pressures should be addressed from an energy conservation perspective. In this respect, concerted efforts to draw up national energy objectives, policies and a master plan should be a priority action to be undertaken.