Oil Field Middle East Major changes are brewing in Saudi Arabia, and there is no way to stop them if the kingdom’s economy is to survive the oil price rout. This is what has become painfully clear after last week, Deputy Economy Minister Mohammad Al Tuwaijri slammed the country’s bureaucracy for being lazy and inefficient, stressing that the economy is far too oil-dependent. He added that, were it not for cost-cutting measures taken by the government, the kingdom would be bankrupt within four years. Although Al Tuwaijri later apologized for these remarks, saying “bankruptcy” was too strong a word, he noted that Saudi Arabia did indeed have a “structural economic problem,” an expression some would consider a massive understatement, but understandable in the context of the culture. Saudi Arabia has not had to deal with a budget deficit for decades, but last year it had a deficit equal to […]