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By Sourav Roy
When you wake up on the morning of January 1, certain things will no longer be the same. You`ll have to be a little more frugal on the petrol, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s new law would keep your hands on the wheel, and your new shoes could be from Bhutan. Find out what changes and events the world will wake up to on the first sunrise of 2009.
OPEC will cut production by 4.2 million barrels per day from January 1, 2009. A direct consequence of the plunging demand for oil, caused by the global economic slowdown, this move was disclosed by Abdullah Al-Badri, OPEC Secretary-General, after the cartel met in the Algerian city of Oran, on December 17, 2008. Will this leave emerging economies gasping for more breath, or ignite the era of a slow, yet steady bio-fuel revolution? Wait till 2009 end to find out.
On the other side of the world, Russian gas and oil giant Gazprom has proposed to cut off gas supplies to Ukraine on January 1, if the former Soviet republic fails to settle a $2.4 billion bill to its powerful neighbour. Something that seems inevitable, considering Ukraine’s fragile financial health. If the debt is not settled, Ukraine may have to go without oil and gas for the rest of the year.
Apparently, even the opulent and cash-rich Middle Eastern economies have decided to opt for a cheaper, smarter and cost-effective transportation system, beginning this year, for the construction of a 245 kilometers rail network, extending from Oman to Kuwait and passing through the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia is scheduled to begin on the first day of the New Year. So, will return fare charts and platform tickets replace Lamborghinis and Porsches in the Middle East?
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Image: Oil workers stand on a new well installation at sunset on Oct 18, 2008, in the desert oil fields of Sakhir, Bahrain, in the Persian Gulf. Photograph (Photograph copyright Associated Press. Unauthorised reproduction is prohibited.)
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