OPEC member Algeria has decided it would slash its budget for this year by 50 percent, due to the drastically lower income from oil after the price crash. Algeria – which was already feeling a squeeze on foreign exchange reserves even before oil prices collapsed in early May due to the Saudi-Russian oil price war and the global demand crash in the pandemic – is now taking a drastic action to protect its finances this year. The budget will be slashed by “50 percent” in 2020, the office of Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune office said in a statement carried by AFP . Algeria currently pumps around 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil. According to OPEC , the oil and gas industry is the backbone of the Algerian economy. Oil and gas represents 20 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and accounts for 85 percent […]