"We are still in control of the crisis,” a spokesman for Algeria’s president declared last month. But the truth is that Algeria has little control over the one thing that overwhelmingly determines its economic wellbeing: oil and gas revenue.

Even before the devastating economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and oil price crash could be felt, things were far from rosy. Crude and condensate exports for the first two months of 2020 were down 27% year-on-year at just 665,000 b/d, while gas exports were down 26% at 3.6bn cfd. (CONTINUED - 1418 WORDS)