Oil Nations’ Summer of Strife Offers Glimpse of Pain to Come

  • Oil slump deepens economic strain on Iraq, Venezuela, Algeria
  • Speculation grows that virus may hasten decline in oil use
Photographer: Bartek Sadowski/Bloomberg
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From Baghdad and Algiers to Caracas, many of the world’s oil capitals are experiencing a summer of discontent. It could be a glimpse of their future.

Iraq has seen fatal protests as its electricity grid buckles amid searing heat, while Venezuela’s oil production has sunk to a 75-year low. In Algeria’s capital, tension is simmering as the hardship of virus lockdowns brings the risk of renewed demonstrations and riots.