Venezuela’s Governance Is What Makes Its Oil Industry ‘Uninvestable’
February 17th, 2026
Via World Politics Review, commentary on Venezuela: U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright made a historic trip to Venezuela last week to tour the country’s oil facilities and to meet with interim President Delcy Rodriguez and her aides. Standing inside Petropiar, an oil processing plant in the fossil fuel-rich Orinoco Belt that operates as a joint […]
Read more »How Long Can Kyrgyzstan’s Economic Boom Keep Booming?
February 17th, 2026
Via The Diplomat, a look at how sanctions scrutiny and overheating risks are threatening one of the few winners from the Russia-Ukraine war: When the coronavirus pandemic struck in 2020, entrepreneur Amantur Asanaliev doubted whether his newly formed logistics company, TLK Supplier, would survive, let alone thrive. Sure enough, the pandemic quickly devastated many Kyrgyz businesses […]
Read more »Dubai’s Rich Chinese
February 16th, 2026
Via The Economist, a look at how Chinese money is moving into the Gulf: Lee hsien loong, Singapore’s Senior Minister, recently gave some advice to foreigners in the city-state: “Please keep the bling down.” Mr Lee counselled migrants not to go popping expensive champagne or driving their Ferraris loudly at night. Such excess may grate […]
Read more »The Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway: Still Growing 8 Years Later
February 14th, 2026
Via The Diplomat, an article on how – two years after the handover to local control – the China-built railway is not done transforming the region: After its inauguration on January 10, 2017, in Djibouti City, the Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway (AADR) – the African continent’s first standard-gauge, electrified, multi-country railway – started its operation in […]
Read more »Inside the U.S. DFC, Trump’s answer to China’s Belt and Road
February 14th, 2026
Via The Africa Report, a look at how – established in his first term and supercharged in his second – the Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is rewriting the rules of engagement in Africa – explicitly placing American security above humanitarian goals: In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), work is underway on the Lobito rail […]
Read more »Saudis Announce New Investments in Syria, a Sign of Deepening Ties
February 9th, 2026
Courtesy of The New York Times, a report on new Saudi and Syrian deals ranging from aviation to telecommunications, offering a much-needed boost to Syria’s battered economy: Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday sweeping investments in Syria’s telecommunications, energy, and aviation sectors, the latest sign of a deepening relationship between the two countries. The deals represent […]
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.