In efforts to restore its petroleum sector after years of conflict-driven disruption, the government of South Sudan has extended the Exploration Production Sharing Agreement (EPSA) and Transitional Agreement Extension for three blocks in September this year.

Oil and gas are finite resources. Although they can generate substantial revenue for national coffers, they cannot be relied on indefinitely. As an oil and gas producing country develops, its domestic demand for the commodities will grow and gradually cancel out financial gains.Oil was a big component of Indonesia’s economy ever since it was first discovered in north Sumatra in 1885.

Fuel subsidies have always played a significant role in Southeast Asia – most notably in oil producing states such as Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. While Southeast Asia’s economy may be expanding rapidly, most of the countries there have yet to reach the level of a high-income nation. With oil prices constantly fluctuating, fuel subsidies are often seen as a vital policy to help citizens cope with the cost of living.

Every time Malaysia’s national oil and gas company PETRONAS declares a profit, the nation’s four oil-producing states will clamour for a bigger slice of the pie than the current five percent royalty they are receiving. The subject rose again following the unexpected victory of the Alliance of Hope (Pakatan Harapan) in the country’s May 2018 general election, ending the 61-year continuous rule of the National Front (Barisan Nasional).

The chandeliered halls of Vienna’s Hofburg palace will be the venue for the meeting between leaders of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as they decide on output policy amid calls by the major oil consuming economies of the United States (US), China and India to increase crude oil production and cool down oil prices.