Time's Up for the Petro-States

摘要

1.The 2011 Arab Spring laid bare the governance shortfalls of authoritarian oil and gas producers in the Mideast and North Africa-namely,economies and political systems that could not meet citizens’needs.Algeria's recent wave of protests underscores how little has changed-and how quickly problems can arise anywhere in the region.2.If anything,the problems have intensified.Energy exports are declining-giving governments less scope to spend their way out of trouble-and energy transition worries are on the rise,underlining the urgency for reform.The world is changing,but Mideast oil producers aren't changing with it.Governments that could once bask in the security of bountiful oil and gas reserves keeping things ticking over for decades to come-even factoring in oil's boom and bust cycle-can't be so confident anymore.Fields are maturing,production is slipping,domestic demand is rising-and $100 oil may be a thing of the past,especially in the new age of energy transition.