Gazprom & Kyrgyzstan: An Energy Side of “The Great Game”
October 3rd, 2008
Via Energy Daily, interesting analysis of Gazprom’s strategy of offering former Soviet republics in the Caucasus and Central Asia near-market prices for its future natural gas production, undercutting the West’s major trump card in negotiations. As the article notes: “…Among the most vulnerable to Gazprom’s policies is Kyrgyzstan, which is largely bereft of hydrocarbon resources, […]
Read more »SOCAR So Good: Azerbaijan Wants to Boost Oil Carried by Russian Pipelines
October 2nd, 2008
From Windows on Eurasia, an interesting report that Azerbaijan hopes to send more oil through Russia. According to the article: “…The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) is negotiating with Russian officials to boost the amount of oil transported by Russian pipelines to the West, a move that many people around the world will see […]
Read more »Chinese State-Owned Energy Companies Expand Their Global Reach
October 2nd, 2008
Via The Wall Street Journal, an in-depth report on the latest efforts by Chinese state-owned energy companies to expand their global reach. As the article notes: “…Cnooc and China Petrochemical, known as Sinopec, are close to buying a stake held by U.S.-based Marathon Oil Corp. in an Angolan oil block, after agreeing to a price […]
Read more »Frontier Markets – Marching To Their Own Beat
October 2nd, 2008
Via The Wall Street Journal, an interesting look at how, despite the fact that emerging markets favorites such as Brazil, Russia, India and China have tumbled hard, in part due to recent falls in commodity and oil prices, one group of countries is redrawing the map. Some budding economies of the former Soviet Union, Africa, […]
Read more »China’s Growing Economic Influence in Central Asia
October 1st, 2008
From The Foreign Policy Association, a nice summary of China’s growing influence in the Central Asian states. As the article notes, recent projects include: “-A 960-kilometer oil pipeline from Western Kazakhstan to Western China has partially started operations and should be carrying 20 millions tons of the black gold annually in only a few years […]
Read more »South Korea Deals for Russian Gas
October 1st, 2008
Via Reuters, news that South Korea agreed on a $90 billion deal to import Siberian gas that should allow Russia to diversify away from Europe while bringing North Korea closer to its neighbour via pipeline diplomacy. As the article noted: “…South Korea’s Energy Ministry said in a statement the country wanted to import up to […]
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.