US$30 oil props up Opec nations as reforms stagnate

LONDON: Five years into an oil price boom, social tensions and growing populations mean Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) states need to invest more heavily, but public sector spending is eroding the windfall and storing problems for the future. 

While high oil prices have fuelled robust economic growth across much of the oil exporting world, analysts say most countries have failed to meet earlier pledges to diversify and modernise their economies, and thus may be tempted to buy time by keeping oil prices near US$30 for as long as possible.