Russia Moves On The Caspian; Back to Iraq As Well?
January 21st, 2008
As neatly reported by Energy Daily, Russia is moving swiftly to develop projects in its own self-defined sector of the Caspian Sea. Russia’s move offshore means it is now joining post-Soviet republics Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan in developing their claimed national sectors of the Caspian, leaving only Iran – stymied by U.S. trade sanctions barring […]
Read more »Turkmenistan’s Pipeline Politics: Turkey, Iran, and Others Shiver Together
January 15th, 2008
There have been stories this past week or so about the severe winter and gas shortages in Iran, and their resulting cut in supplies to Turkey. The Iranian domestic shortage was supposed to be made up from Turkmenistan. Unfortunately the shortfall from Iran to Turkey was supposed to be made up by increased supplies from […]
Read more »Big Oil: Merging Into the Future?
January 7th, 2008
Having recently examined the possibility of the first Supermajor from the developing world being established (via a link between Angola and Petrobras), we must not forget that Big Oil still exists (even in a marginalized sense). Steve LeVine offers some very interesting thoughts as to what Big Oil may do in light of the rise […]
Read more »Gazprom’s African Gas Grab
January 4th, 2008
From The Financial Times, a report that Gazprom is offering to invest in Nigeria’s energy infrastructure in return for the chance to develop some of the biggest gas deposits in the worlds, a move that will undoubtedly heighten concerns among western governments over its increasingly powerful grip on gas supplies to Europe. As the article […]
Read more »Uzbekistan and A Russian Energy Battle: Part of Lukoil’s Capital Flight Plan?
January 4th, 2008
Via Stratfor (subscription required), a highly interesting analysis of Uzbekistan’s status as a large natural gas producer that is locked into Russia’s interests, even though it has many potential export options beyond its large neighbor. As the article notes: “…Uzbekistan, an often-ignored energy source in the heart of Central Asia, ranks among the world’s top […]
Read more »Russia’s Energy Secret and The Chinese Threat
December 30th, 2007
A very interesting article in Newsweek, which details that – despite its aggressive energy-related dealings – Russia can barely meet its own demand. While reading this report, I can’t help but think of the Cold War years in which Russia (and other states for that matter) aggressively portrayed & projected its strength internationally, while the […]
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.