Primary Program
About
Majed is a senior fellow at KAPSARC with a focus on energy security, geopolitics, and hydrocarbon laws and regulations. He has more than 15 years of experience in the oil and gas industry in the fields of simulation and modeling, asset management, reserves estimation, oil field development, disruptive technologies, and business planning, gained at Chevron and Saudi Aramco. Majed holds a B.S. degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Tulsa in the United States, along with two M.S. degrees in petroleum engineering, and reservoir geosciences and engineering, respectively, from Texas A&M University and the Institut Francais du Petrole (IFP School). In 2021, Majed earned his Master of Science degree in public economics and policy from Purdue University.
Publications
23 May 2024
The New Oil Market Multiverse: Physical Commodity Swaps as Instruments for Circumventing Sanctions and Their Implications for the Global EconomyFrom the global pandemic to the aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the past few years have witnessed a reordering of global trade flows, most dramatically in the energy sector. Less obviously, these shifts have also precipitated an emerging trend toward alte...
11 September 2022
Digital Transformation in the Oil and Gas Industry: Hype or Hope?
For decades, the oil and gas (O&G) industry has provided the globe with the best value proposition in the form of reliable, affordable, and safe energy supplies. As global population projections soar, demand for all forms of energy is also set to rise, with hydrocarbons expected...
28 February 2022
Integrated Oil Companies and the Requiem for a Transition: How Are They Coping with Climate Change?Integrated oil and gas (O&G) companies operate vertically integrated businesses that span the O&G value chain. In this way, they can leverage expertise across multiple domains rather than just focusing on exploration and production (E&P). Examples of such companies includ...
05 October 2021
Implications of the 2021 Iran-China Deal for the Oil MarketIn late March 2021, China and Iran signed a cooperation pact to stimulate investments in Iran’s oil, gas and petrochemical infrastructure. We refer to this pact as the ‘Iran-China deal’ throughout this manuscript. This deal attracted substantial attention for its effects on global oi...
14 September 2020
Saudi Arabia’s Gas Flaring Mitigation ExperienceGas is envisaged as the fuel of choice in the power sector and is the ideal fuel to help transition toward clean, sustainable, and affordable energy access. As vital as gas is for electricity generation, the petrochemical industry, the transportation sector, and heating, many oil ope...
07 January 2025
No Magic Bullet The Challenge of Security Interventions in Phantom Oil FlowsThe discovery and exploitation of oil and gas significantly transformed the global economy and social welfare landscape. Oil, in particular, became the lifeblood of industrialization, fueling the growth of numerous sectors, including transportation, manufacturing, and electricity gen...
02 December 2024
Phantom Oil Movements: An Investigation into Opaque Ship- to-Ship Operations and Their Role in Sanction EvasionThe transportation and distribution of large volumes of oil, gas, and refined products over long distances are enabled primarily by marine shipping. Transborder pipelines serve as an additional method for transporting oil and gas. However, these pipelines are typically more expensive...
08 April 2025
Ground-Source Air Conditioning: A Potential Solution for Saudi Arabia’s Building SectorEnergy consumption for cooling in Saudi Arabia is notably high due to the country’s extreme climatic conditions, with air conditioning accounting for a significant portion of electricity demand. Addressing this challenge requires innovative solutions that align with Saudi Arabia’s Vi...
21 March 2025
Energy Stewardship in a Transitioning World: Extending the Hydrocarbon Value Chain into Lithium Extraction in Saudi ArabiaEnergy security has long been central to the strategic and policy frameworks of governments worldwide, owing to the indispensable role of stable and sufficient energy supplies in underpinning economic growth, social welfare, and political stability. Historically, the pursuit of energ...
11 February 2025
Energy Peacekeeping: The Role of Effectivités as a Viable, Legal Instrument in Addressing Shared or Disputed Offshore Oil and Gas FieldsAs more offshore oil and gas discoveries, some of them dramatic, take place in areas where maritime boundaries can be disputed, effectivités have become key considerations in resolving some of the resulting conflicts. A basic understanding of the theory of effectivités is therefore v...
