PROJECT ANALYSIS PROCEDURES FOR AN OPEC COUNTRY: CASE STUDY OF QATAR'S NORTHWEST DOME GAS PROJECT (MIDDLE EAST)

The discovery of oil in most OPEC countries in the 1940s changed the economies of these countries from a state of capital shortage and stagnation to a state of capital surplus and economic growth. This growth, however, is lopsided. Oil production and export dominate the gross domestic products (GDPs) of those economies. Concern arising during the 1970s about overdependence on crude oil export as the main source of national income has resulted in the initiation of various industrial development programs in OPEC states aiming to diversify their economies.; Most of these economies, particularly those of the Gulf states, suffer from dearth of skilled and unskilled manpower, lack of managerial and technical skills, narrowness of domestic market, and limited arable land. These conditions limit the absorptive capacity of these economies. In contrast to these conditions, the bulk of the literature on project evaluation for developing countries is characterized by abundant unskilled labor and scarce foreign exchange.; This study was conducted with two primary objectives: (1) to identify and understand the features of selected OPEC countries' development problems, strategies and plans, focusing on the role of oil and gas resources and opportunities for diversification, and (2) to suggest an appropriate development strategy, with project evaluation implications, for capital-abundant, labor-scarce OPEC countries in the Gulf region such as Qatar. This proposed approach is designed to evaluate the project from its contribution to the national income, people's welfare, the expansion of the economy's absorptive capacity, and relief of the economy's dependence on nonrenewable resources. The Northwest Dome Gas Project in Qatar was selected as an illustrative case study for this approach.