Where Should the Next Cities Be?
September 23rd, 2026
Via Alpha Geo, a look at where the next cities will be: The new city mirage The next cities will not be founded – they will be extended. Almost all urban growth between now and 2050 will take place on the edges of cities that already exist. Saudi Arabia announced The Line in 2021 as […]
Read more »How Guyana Is Feeding the Profits of the Largest U.S. Oil Company
September 23rd, 2026
Via the New York Times, a look at how Exxon Mobil found a coveted growth engine in Guyana. Now it must navigate Guyana’s fractious politics and a territorial dispute with Venezuela. An hour by helicopter from Guyana’s capital, Exxon Mobil’s deepwater production hub in the churning Atlantic Ocean reflects the scale of the company’s wager […]
Read more »Kazakhstan Plans To Triple Its Purchase of Russian Gas from Gazprom
September 23rd, 2026
Kazakhstan is preparing to almost triple its purchases of Russian gas this year, an extraordinary increase for one of the world’s major hydrocarbon producers. Deputy Energy Minister Kairkhan Tutkyshbayev said purchases from Gazprom are poised to reach around 11 billion cubic metres, up from 4 billion last year. Another 9 billion cubic metres is under […]
Read more »An “Impossible” Railway Across Afghanistan?
September 20th, 2026
A newly released video explores an extraordinary proposition: a railway crossing Afghanistan that could ultimately connect western China with Iran and markets farther west. It is easy to understand the appeal. Afghanistan’s geography has long been described principally as a constraint—landlocked, mountainous and situated between competing powers. A functioning trans-Afghan railway could turn at least […]
Read more »China, Pakistan, and the Rise of the “Electrostate”
September 20th, 2026
Via Modern Diplomacy, a look at the China-Pakistan Economic Corridorm a multi-billion-dollar infrastructure and development programme linking Xinjiang, a region in China, to Pakistan’s deepwater Gwadar Port: The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a multi-billion-dollar infrastructure and development programme linking Xinjiang, a region in China, to Pakistan’s deepwater Gwadar Port. It was launched as a flagship […]
Read more »China and Egypt’s African Ambitions: How VICMED Could Advance the Belt and Road
September 8th, 2026
Via Modern Diplomacy, a look at how China views Egypt’s VICMED and Mediterranean–Lake Victoria connectivity projects as potential drivers of African integration, trade and Belt and Road cooperation: The Chinese perspective intersects with and complements the vision of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to establish a waterway linking the Mediterranean Sea to Lake Victoria. This […]
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.