Turkey & Iran: Seeking to Expand Their Geopolitical Influence
February 28th, 2009
Via Stratfor (subscription required), an interesting look at the dynamic relations between Iran and Turkey and the upcoming bilateral meetings between the two nations. As the article notes “…Both Turkey and Iran are on the rise. Until relatively recent times, both have been contained by various forces, most notably Iraq and the Soviet Union. Between […]
Read more »Parting The Iran Curtain: Possible U.S. Interest in Iranian Offshore Exploration
February 27th, 2009
Via The Wall Street Journal, an intriguing report of possible U.S. interest in Iran’s offshore petroleum reserves. As the article notes: “…A Norwegian company that has done extensive prospecting work on Iranian offshore resources says a U.S. company has expressed interest in buying its “Persian Carpet” seismic study. That data would be useful if U.S. […]
Read more »Russia’s Great Leap Eastward
February 27th, 2009
Via the Associated Press, an interesting look at Russia’s recent deals with China and Japan. As the article notes: “…The ruble is dropping, oil production is declining, foreign capital is fleeing, currency reserves are dwindling. Short-term, the Kremlin is struggling to deal with the worst economic crisis in a decade. Long-term, though, the Kremlin appears […]
Read more »Africa’s Arabian “Knights”
February 26th, 2009
Via The Wall Street Journal, an interesting article on the continued investment into Africa by Persian Gulf states, despite the commodities slow down at present. As the report notes: “…Through the worst of the global financial crisis in recent months, Gulf investors have committed to pouring billions of dollars into sub-Saharan Africa. The timing comes […]
Read more »Medium Term Geopolitical Power of Oil: Tilting Towards Asian/Chinese Financiers
February 24th, 2009
We’ve tracked the series of long term oil deals being signed by the Chinese around the world (most recently, in Brazil & Russia) and now Steve LeVine (via Business Week) has provided an analytical piece explaining how the current underinvestment in production is going to lead to another boom cycle in prices – however this […]
Read more »A Total Experience in Yemen…
February 23rd, 2009
Via The New York Times, an interesting report on Total’s activities in Yemen. As the article notes “…Yemen is a showcase for Total, whose experience here shows how far an oil company will go these days to unearth new energy supplies. Because of the endlessly complicated interplay of geology and geopolitics, access to petroleum resources […]
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.