A few months ago, Vitol Asia president Mike Muller revealed some interesting numbers concerning the oil & gas demand in the world during the Middle East Petroleum & Gas Conference in Dubai. He said, “We are going into the second half of the year where, largely thanks to Asian demand growth, the world is going to need about 2 million barrels per day more than it needs now”.

Perhaps fossil fuel doesn’t have a bright future in the world, but its present is rather healthy. Despite the Russia-Ukraine conflict and subsequent crunch of the fuel supply, the gasoline demand in Europe recorded the strongest this year since 2015 (January to-June period), according to Bloomberg calculations based on government data. The third-largest consumer of oil in the world as of 2022, India’s economic growth is highly influenced by its energy demand. Therefore, the demand for oil and gas is ever-increasing.

On the flip side of this coin, the whole Arabian Peninsula is betting big on technology as it slowly transforms from an oil based economy. In the process, a wealthy market for futuristic technologies is emerging in the Middle East. But the question of rapidly increasing demand persists. How and when the impact of this diversification will hit the world remains to be seen. In this yearly special issue, we explore more about the business realm in the Middle East and Africa, especially from the lenses of Indian leaders.