Africa’s Charcoal Economy: Keeping the Home Fires Burning
May 16th, 2025
Via The Economist, a report on Africa’s charcoal economy and why a dirty fuel remains stubbornly important on the continent: When Gibril Ali talks of “black gold”, he does not mean oil. He buys it in sacks, not barrels. He sells it to his customers in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, from a metal shack. But in Kenya […]
Read more »Sudan’s World War
May 16th, 2025
Via Sidecar, commentary on the ongoing war in Sudan: The 15 April marked the two-year anniversary of a civil war in Sudan that has left tens of thousands dead and millions displaced. I published an essay in Sidecar, ‘Gunshots in Khartoum’, two days after the war began, which tried to trace its emergent lineaments. The conflict […]
Read more »US Assesses Financial Support for Construction of Cambodia Airport
May 16th, 2025
Via , an article on potential U.S. financial support for the construction of a new Cambodian airport: The U.S. government has announced it is assessing whether to help finance a nearly-completed airport near the Cambodian capital, a move that comes amid growing tariff tensions between the two countries, the halting of virtually all Washington’s aid […]
Read more »How Trump Turned the Gulf’s Oil Kingdoms Into Silicon Superpowers In is Four-Day Trip
May 16th, 2025
Via Rest of World, an article on Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE which have pledged trillions of dollars in return for access to cutting-edge chips for AI development: The UAE committed $1.4 trillion to the U.S., while Saudi Arabia promised $600 billion. Trump opened the AI chip floodgates, shipping 500,000 cutting-edge processors annually to […]
Read more »ADNOC Buys Into Turkmenistan Gas
May 16th, 2025
Via XRG, a report that XRG, the international investment arm of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., is acquiring a stake in an offshore gas and condensate field in Turkmenistan: XRG expands footprint in Central Asia with a 38% interest in the offshore “Block I” gas and condensate fields in Turkmenistan Partnership with PETRONAS reflects XRG’s […]
Read more »Risk and Reward in Central Asia’s Critical Raw Materials Boom
May 15th, 2025
Via The Diplomat, a look at how – as Brussels, Beijing, Moscow, and Washington scramble to secure key materials for clean energy and new tech – they have begun to size up the region’s potential. Not long ago, critical raw materials (CRMs) – metals and minerals essential for technology, green energy, and defense – were […]
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.