Russia’s Winter of Discontent: An Opportunity for International Companies to Invest?
January 21st, 2009
Via The Times, an interesting look at Gazprom’s cash woes and the opportunity that such a crunch may afford Western companies. Specifically, an obvious solution to the Ukrainian crisis is for a cash-rich EU utility, such as Gasunie of the Netherlands, to buy the Ukrainian transit pipelines, offering long-term money that could be used to […]
Read more »Pemex: Unable to Reverse Its Accelerating Production Decline
January 21st, 2009
Via Stratfor (subscription required), an interesting analysis of Petroleos Mexicanos’ (Pemex) continued production woes. As the article notes “…Oil output … dropped 9 percent in 2008 to about 2.8 million barrels per day (bpd). This is down from 3.08 million bpd in 2007, and from Pemex’s all-time high of about 3.8 million bpd in 2004. […]
Read more »Venezuela Quietly Courting Big Oil Once Again
January 15th, 2009
Via The International Herald Tribune, a report that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, who initially reveled in describing the crash as proof of capitalism’s flaws, is now quietly courting Western oil companies once again. As the article notes: “…Until recently, buoyed by the surging price of oil, Chávez had pushed foreign oil companies here into a […]
Read more »China and Iran Sign Large-Scale Oil Development Contract
January 15th, 2009
Via Energy Daily, a report that China and Iran recently signed a $1.76 billion contract for the initial development of the North Azadegan oil field in western Iran. As the article notes: “…The agreement between China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) foresees production from the field reaching 75,000 barrels […]
Read more »Plowing Money Into Southern Sudan via A Warlord’s Family
January 11th, 2009
Via The Financial Times, several interesting articles about investment in southern Sudan. The first deals with a US businessman backed by former CIA and state department officials says he has secured a vast tract of fertile land in south Sudan from the family of a notorious warlord, in post-colonial Africa’s biggest private land deal. The […]
Read more »RosUkrEnergo: Happily Between a Rock and Hard Place
January 9th, 2009
Via Oil and Glory, some interesting commentary on the role of RosUkrEnergo in the recent dispute between Ukraine and Russia. Half-owned by Gazprom and two Ukrainian businessmen, RosUkrEnergo owns no gas, or pipelines, yet earns a flat 20% take off the top of all the gas sold by Russia to Ukraine. As the article notes: […]
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.