Saudi energy think tank develops oil shock analysis model

RIYADH: A Saudi energy think tank has devised an analytical model which examines how oil price shocks affect individual countries.
The King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) developed the tool which covers 36 countries and incorporates oil industry data going all the way back to 1979.
It comes amid fierce volatility across energy markets this year as oil demand is buffeted by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Among the countries studied were 12 major oil producers that collectively account for two-thirds of global crude oil output, and hold approximately 65 percent of proven oil reserves. The list includes five of the world’s top six producers: Saudi Arabia, the US, Russia, Canada and China. 
It stressed the importance of establishing sovereign wealth funds in oil exporting countries that can absorb economic shocks, thereby dampening the impact on the wider economy and reducing the potential for system-wide disruption.