Energy Archive

The emergence of a brash and little-known 31-year-old as the public face of a dynamic new style of leadership in Saudi Arabia has caught international attention over the past two years. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, whose rise began in 2015, has promoted his so-called Saudi Vision 2030 initiative as an instrument of economic transformation in an era of plummeting oil prices. Against the backdrop of emergency spending cuts in 2015 that stove off financial ruin, the project aims to balance the Saudi budget by 2020, wean the country off of energy subsidies, and reduce the role […]

After sending signals of his plans to retire from politics for nearly a year, Angola’s president, Jose Eduardo dos Santos—the second-longest-ruling leader in Africa—announced earlier this month that he will step down at the end of his current mandate and not run in August elections. That will bring an end to a presidency that began in 1979, when Jimmy Carter was in the White House. The transition from dos Santos’ rule is the most significant political event in Angola since its independence from Portugal in 1974, and comes at a time of deep economic and social crisis in the oil-rich […]

Last month, Guyana seemingly overnight joined the ranks of oil-rich countries when Exxon Mobil and Hess announced one of the most significant oil discoveries in years in the waters off the tiny South American nation. One offshore field is estimated to hold 1.4 billion barrels of oil alone, as much as South America’s largest existing fields. A relatively poor developing country, Guyana currently has no domestic crude oil production, although being Venezuela’s neighbor has warranted intermittent exploration for nearly a century. That is about to change, with oil revenues expected by 2020. But this good news comes with a warning. […]