On May 3rd the Algerian court found former head of Sonatrach guilty of corruption. He was sentenced to one year in prison and a $7,000 USD fine. He was dismissed from his position last year due to these charges. This comes only a few days after one of the most violent protests in four months. Protesters demanded greater political freedom and standards of living. The government has responded by both violent crackdowns and greater public spending and the promise of political reform.
Eni SPA and Sonatrach have signed a cooperation agreement to develop unconventional hydrocarbon resources, especially shale gas. Experts estimate that Algeria may have over 200 tcf in shale gas.
4.5.11
Economic Governance and Reform in Saudi Arabia: An Outline
Economic Governance and Reform in Saudi Arabia by Rodney Wilson
Edited by Anoushiravan Ehteshami and Steven Wright
Ithaca Press (2007)
Useful comparison between economic management of post-2000 oil revenue boom with 1970s
· Oil booms as reason to avoid making difficult economic reforms vis-à-vis taxation and government spending
Algerian Oil & Gas
Retrieved from: Review of African Political Economy http://www.jstor.org/pss/4006880
Reform in the Middle East Oil Monarchies: An Outline
Reform in the Middle East Oil Monarchies
Edited by Anoushiravan Ehteshami and Steven Wright
Ithaca Press (2007)
Reform in the Middle East Oil Monarchies focuses on recent trends in the region, arguing that they represent liberalization rather than real movement toward democracy. Many of these changes are seeming cosmetic, rather than representative of a real diffusion of political power. The following posts will closely outline essays contained in the volume that are useful for understanding these trends in Saudi Arabia.
27.4.11
The Economics of an Integrated World Oil Market
By William Nordhaus / Yale University / Keynote Address @ International Energy Workshop in Venice, Italy June 17-19, 2009
http://nordhaus.econ.yale.edu/documents/iew_052909.pdf
http://nordhaus.econ.yale.edu/documents/iew_052909.pdf
An Era of Oil Scracity (IMF)
The recent spike in oil prices suggested that the global oil market had entered a period of increased scarcity, while global capital flows to emerging markets surged after the crisis, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday.
"The origins of this scarcity can be traced to the tension between the upward shift in global oil consumption growth due to fast-growing emerging market economies and supply constraints, which have led to a downshift in oil supply growth," the IMF noted in a report.
EIA STEO - April 2011
The forecast for total world oil consumption grows by an annual average of 1.5 million bbl/d in 2011 and 2012. Supply from non-OPEC countries grows an average of about 0.4 million bbl/d annually through 2012. Consequently, EIA expects that in order to meet projected demand growth the market will rely on both a drawdown of inventories and significant increases in the production of crude oil and non-crude liquids in OPEC member countries at a time when the disruption of crude oil exports from Libya and continuing unrest in other MENA countries already highlight significant supply risks.
Among the major uncertainties that could push oil prices above or below our current forecast are: the continued unrest in producing countries and its potential impact on supply; decisions by key OPEC member countries regarding their production response to the global increase in oil demand; the rate of economic growth, both domestically and globally; fiscal issues facing national and sub-national governments; and China's efforts to address concerns regarding its growth and inflation rates.
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