Deflated by Oil Price's Dive
In a Retreat, Petro Powers Forced to Prop Up Ailing Economies at Home
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Iranian Gholam Reza Karimi works in Azadegan oil field. With the drop in prices, Iran is struggling to finance oil and gas development projects. (By Vahid Salemi -- Associated Press)
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Despite huge domestic outlays, Hugo Chvez said Venezuela, with $40 billion in central bank reserves, is secure. Vladimir Putin built up a reserve by taxing oil profits, but Russia dipped into it for bank rescues. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won't say how much Iran has in reserve. (Ng Han Guan - AP)
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(Alexei Druzhinin - AP)
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An oil worker in Saudi Arabia, which has dipped into its cash hoards to rescue domestic financial institutions. (By Hasan Jamali -- Associated Press)
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