In several Developing Countries (DC's), national governments, NGOs and multilateral organisations have been looking for ways out of the so-called "resource curse" by improving the public capacity to steer the hydro-fuel activities. These intents were particularly difficult in the Least Developed Countries (LDC's), characterized by profound legitimacy crises of the State and strong asymmetries between multinational firms, multilateral organizations, national States and civil societies. The recent unfolding of events in Chad (changes in the oil revenue law, renewed rebel attacks) and Mauritania (military coup of August 2008) seem to provide new arguments to the defenders of the "resource curse" approach. We argue however that because of their same nature, hydro fuel activities are themselves triggering new demands and changes which in turn might be characterized as critical junctures opening the way for alternative paths. We will conclude by summarizing the key domains of potential bifurcations. Further research is suggested concerning the issue of their probability and viability.