Afghanistan “Cops Out” to China
November 28th, 2007
From Radio Free Europe, news that Afghanistan has awarded China’s state-owned China Metallurgical Group with the right to develop a large copper field to the south of Kabul, following two years of bidding. According to the article, CMG agreed to invest billions of dollars in the project and related infrastructure development — including the construction […]
Read more »The Largest Thanksgiving Day Sale Ever: Oil Producers Buy The World
November 28th, 2007
From the NY Times, more evidence that oil-producing countries have embarked upon a global shopping spree. While the focus is the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority’s bold outlay of $7.5 billion to become one of the largest shareholders in Citigroup, the article does a nice job of detailing many other petro-dollar based purchases that have taken […]
Read more »No Occident: Increased Interest in Libya
November 28th, 2007
Via Stratfor (subscription required), news that U.S. energy company Occidental Petroleum Corp. and Australian oil and gas firm OMV have agreed to jointly explore for oil in five areas in Libya. According to the article: “…the firms will spend $2.5 billion altogether over the next five years to redevelop oil fields in the Sirte Basin, […]
Read more »Sun shining on the DMZ?
November 28th, 2007
Via Newsweek, an interesting look at the current state of North Korea’s economy and the possibilities for growth should continued progress towards peace be achieved. As the article notes, in the first 10 months of this year trade between the Koreas rose 23 percent to $1.44 billion, and recent agreements may open additional new areas […]
Read more »Zimbabwe: Point of (Full) Return?
November 17th, 2007
As reported in the WSJ, intrepid investors are seeking out opportunities in some of the most challenging markets around the world. Take, for instance, Zimbabwe where the annual inflation rate is 8,000% and rising, and people don’t have food to eat. As the article notes: “…investors have started pouring millions of dollars into the country. […]
Read more »More Evidence that Big Oil Shrinking in Influence…
November 16th, 2007
In my 10 November post ($100 Oil: Creating a New World Order), I focused on the shift in power away from traditional Big Oil towards state run oil companies in some emerging nations. Steve LeVine, in his always informative Oil and Glory blog, offered further evidence today of the shrinking influence of Big Oil: “…After […]
Read more »Focusing primarily on The New Seven Sisters - the largely state owned petroleum companies from the emerging world that have become key players in the oil & gas industry as identified by Carola Hoyos, Chief Energy Correspondent for The Financial Times - but spanning other nascent opportunities around the globe that may hold potential in the years ahead, Wildcats & Black Sheep is a place for the adventurous to contemplate & evaluate the emerging markets of tomorrow.