Technical and economical aspects of use of solar energy in oil & gas industry in the Middle East

As major oil and gas companies have been investing in renewable energy, solar energy has been part of the oil and gas industry in the last decade. Originally, solar energy was seen as a competing form of energy source as a threat that may replace or decrease the share of fossil fuels as an alternative energy resource in the world. However, oil and gas industry has adapted to the wind of change and has started investing and utilizing the solar energy significantly. In this perspective, this study investigates and outlines the latest advances, technologies, potential of solar both as an alternative and a complementary source of energy in the Middle East in the current supply and demand dynamics of oil and gas resources. A comprehensive literature review focusing on the recent developments and findings in the solar technology along with the availability and locations are outlined and discussed under the current dynamics of the oil and gas market and resources. Literature review includes a broad spectrum that spans from technical petroleum literature with very comprehensive research to non-technical but renowned resources including journals and other publications including raw data as well as forecasts and opinions of respected experts. The raw data and expert opinions are organized, summarized and outlined in a temporal way within its category for the respective energy source. Solar energy is discussed from a perspective of their roles either as a competing or a complementary source to oil and gas. In this sense, this study goes beyond only providing raw data or facts about the energy resources but also a thorough publication that provides the oil and gas industry professional with a clear image of the past, present and the expected near future of the oil and gas industry as it stands with respect to renewable energy resources. Among the few existing studies that shed light on the current status of the oil and gas industry facing the development of the renewable energy are up-to-date and the existing studies within SPE domain focus on facts only lacking the interrelationship between solar energy and oil and gas such as solar energy used in oil and gas fields as a complementary green energy.