Obviously, this is something that needs a great deal of study, but on the face of it, it seems feasible that oil producing countries could provide fuel for their populations free of charge. When you consider that in Egypt, for example, half of the oil and gas produced in the country is taken by foreign energy companies for sale in the international market; if that oil and gas were NOT taken by the energy companies, and instead belonged to the state, the revenues from the sale of that surplus would go directly into the government’s budget. Would that money not be enough to cover the cost of production? I don’t know, but it is worth finding out.
I have been writing for a long time that the oil and gas contracts with energy companies are inherently exploitative, and contradict basic Islamic rulings. When you dig a well for someone, you are paid for your work, but you do not get to take half of the water from that well. I don’t see any reason why oil companies should receive a share of the oil they extract instead of simply being paid a fee for their services, do you? If you take your car to a mechanic, and he fixes it, does he become a joint owner of the vehicle? When a doctor delivers a baby, does he have a right to a share in every dollar that baby will earn in his lifetime?
Natural resources belong to the people; that is a fundamental rule in Islam. A genuinely Islamic government will distribute those resources to the population without charge. It is therefore up to any Islamist party to study and design the necessary measures through which this can be done. Even if the fee for oil production needs to be paid, or partially paid, through a tax, with the remainder being paid through revenue from the sale of surplus oil, that would be fine.
When something is right in Islam, and if we are Islamists, it is unacceptable to say “it can’t be done”, we have to find the way to do it.