Modeling Macro-Critical Energy Sectors in Low-Income Countries

This paper proposes a general framework for monitoring macro-critical energy sectors in low-income countries, defined as consisting of the three subsectors of crude oil and natural gas production, refinery, and electricity production. It aims to derive consistent information on physical and financial flows in the sector, including on interlinkages between the subsectors. It then applies this framework to Côte d''Ivoire. While being an important source of growth, the Ivoirien energy sector is found to have important shortcomings, in particular as regards transparency, efficiency and contribution to fiscal revenue. Among the key problems are partially intransparent production sharing arrangements for hydrocarbon production, price distortions for natural gas, administered prices for refined petroleum products, underfunding and lack of investment in the electricity sector, and inefficient government subsidies in the latter two subsectors.Oil production;Natural gas;Electric power;Hydrocarbons;crude oil, gas production, petroleum products, oil and gas, natural gas production, electricity production, refinery price, ex-refinery price, fuel oil, power plants, natural resources, oil prices, world market prices, million barrels, gas price, oil companies, gas prices, crude oil production, power plant, petroleum pricing, oil and gas sector, gas extraction, extractive industries, oil company, natural gas price, crude oil price, economic studies, gas sector, extractive industries transparency initiative, environmental degradation, gas policies, natural gas resources, gas and petroleum products, fuel oils, gas fields, fuel production, domestic natural gas, diesel fuel, currency units, market for gas, gas reserves, oil & gas, energy policy, economic theory, aggregate production, oil equivalent, production level, gas electric, fuel gas, oil-producing countries, power generation, gas field, oil field, gas exploration, refined products, gas resources, world oil prices, oil fields, higher oil prices, international oil companies, power supply