According to a report published by the Bahrain based Gulf Finance House, the dramatic reversal in oil and gas prices has ended the six-year economic boom enjoyed by the Gulf states. The report states that the good times are officially over in the Gulf - for now at least - thanks to the plunging price of crude oil coupled with the effects of the global economic downturn leading to tighter liquidity.

As a former GCC resident myself, all this is a far cry from the situation just six months ago when oil prices were riding high and strong global demand generated abundant liquidity across the GCC. Then multimillion dollar record breaking construction projects were unveiled on an almost weekly basis and the credit crunch in the West seemed very far away from the golden shores of the Gulf.

Today's reality, with oil prices having dropped to below US$40 a barrel, is one which has plunged the Gulf economies into a wholly unforeseen crisis, and exposed their fragility - dependent as they are on a highly volatile commodity.