Effective Factors of Energy Growth in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

Abstract. Considering the need to save energy consumption in less developed countries, it seems necessary to identify the effective factors of energy growth in the economy of OPEC countries. Energy intensity represents the energy required to produce a unit of product at the national level. Energy intensity at the level of an industry or a specific production process is calculated in terms of physical units. The physical value of energy intensity is the result of dividing the amount of energy consumed by the product produced. Energy intensity of GDP is a measure for measuring and evaluating energy efficiency in the economy, which is measured by the ratio of units of energy consumed to one unit of GDP. Considering the role and importance of energy intensity, in this article, the effect of variables of energy price (oil), GDP, producer price index and technology was investigated using panel data method during 1995-2018 for OPEC member countries. The results indicate a negative and significant effect of the energy price variable with a value of -0.03, foreign direct investment (-0.004) and capital to labor force with a value of -0.13, as well as a positive effect of the producer price index (0.044) on energy intensity, which the variable effect is according to is expected.