Archive for 2023

Turkmenistan Begins Exporting Gas To Pakistan Via Afghanistan By Truck

Via Afghanistan’s ATN News, a TAPI’ed thatTurkmenistan has begun exporting gas to Pakistan via Afghanistan: Local authorities in Kandahar province say an international company has officially started exporting natural gas from Turkmenistan to Pakistan through Afghanistan. The Chamber of Commerce and Investment says that the route overland through Afghanistan is a lot shorter than the […]

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China’s Got Afghan Fever, Again

Courtesy of Foreign Policy, a look at China’s renewed interest in Afghanistan’s mineral riches: China, once again, seems to be mucking about in Afghanistan’s mineral-rich playground. The latest move is a maybe, could-be deal worth billions to tap Afghanistan’s rich veins of lithium, the key input for the energy transition that powers everything from laptops […]

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Mali’s Gold Industry: Looking For A Second Wind

Courtesy of The Africa Report, a look at Mali’s gold industry: After a slight rebound in 2022, gold production, the driving force behind Mali’s exports, will stall in 2023 according to government forecasts. Gold production in Mali, which is facing major security and economic challenges, is like a rollercoaster ride. Industrial production of the yellow […]

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Will Transit Become Iran’s New Top Revenue Generator?

Via Amwaj Media, commentary on the potential for Iran to generate transit revenues: While all signs and indicators point to rapid economic deterioration in Iran, officials continue to speak of a positive outlook for the economy. Defending his government’s budget for the next Iranian year (beginning March. 21, 2023), President Ebrahim Raisi has presented an […]

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Egypt Struggles To Lure Gulf Buyers In State Asset Sell-Off

Courtesy of The Financial Times, an article on how Cairo’s allies have shifted from handing out traditional support to seeking commercial deals and demanding reforms: Egypt is struggling to sell off state assets in its effort to ease a foreign currency and funding crisis, as Cairo’s traditional Gulf allies toughen their approach to supporting the […]

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Can Latin America Really Build an OPEC for Lithium?

Via HeatMap, commentary on whether Latin America can really build an OPEC for lithium: In a move that shocked Wall Street, Chilean President Gabriel Boric announced last week that his country will nationalize its lithium industry. “This is the best chance we have at transitioning to a sustainable and developed economy,” Boric said. “We can’t […]

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ABOUT
WILDCATS AND BLACK SHEEP
Wildcats & Black Sheep is a personal interest blog dedicated to the identification and evaluation of maverick investment opportunities arising in frontier - and, what some may consider to be, “rogue” or “black sheep” - markets around the world.

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.