Barring an unprecedented and wholly non-expectable immense natural catastrophe and the slightly greater probabilities of another Middle East war or massive occurrences of domestic or imported terrorism, the outlook for Saudi Arabia’s development in 2008 is for another year of very significant growth. It is an absolute no-brainer that a country that derives about half of its GDP and four-fifths of its government revenues from oil and is the world’s leading producer of the commodity will thrive at a time when the barrel sells at close to double what this country needs for its fiscal sustenance — and the oil price outlook for the next few years is for no drop below this break-even point. Tasks for 2008 That is not to say that Saudi Arabia won’t see a surge in challenges, which in the next 12 months could expand beyond the habitual challenges of properly managing oil production, diversifying
