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Since the oil price drop in the summer of 2014, Gulf countries have made significant advances in reforming heavily subsidized fossil fuel prices to domestic consumers.

Saudi Arabia reformed energy prices in 2015, after the United Arab Emirates implemented two large pricing reforms earlier that year. Oman, Bahrain and Qatar implemented price increases in 2016 and 2017. Some Gulf Cooperation Council countries that implemented automatic pricing mechanisms have regularly reviewed prices since. This paper from GSI summarizes these reforms and puts them in the context of wider developmental challenges in the Gulf. It also calls for more focused international support to energy pricing reforms in the Gulf region.