Saudi Arabia accounts for around 54% of the assets under management in The Arab Energy Fund’s investments and partnerships business, Maheur Mourali, the fund’s chief investment officer, said.
The Riyadh-based multilateral lender is studying new opportunities in the kingdom and the wider region, including data centers and related infrastructure, oil and gas field services, and fuel and petroleum product storage, Mourali told Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of the World Petroleum Congress in Riyadh.
The fund’s total assets reached about $14 billion at the end of the first half of 2026, up 16% from a year earlier, he said.
Mourali said the opportunities under study were at different stages of evaluation and negotiation. New investments will be announced once procedures are completed and approvals are obtained, he said.
He said rapid growth in artificial intelligence would be one of the main drivers of higher electricity demand in the coming years. Data centers need large and reliable power supplies, as well as advanced cooling and energy management, he said.
The fund takes influential minority stakes in companies, alongside global infrastructure funds, international strategic partners or local business groups, Mourali said. He cited its investment, announced in early 2026, in APSCO, an aviation refueling and lubricants distribution company.
The Arab Energy Fund was established in 1974 by 10 Arab oil-exporting countries and began operations in 1975. It was known as the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation, or APICORP, until it changed its name in 2023.
The fund provides debt financing, equity investments and advisory services to energy projects in the Middle East and North Africa.
