China: A Bull in Iran’s Oil “Shop”
December 10th, 2007
As reported in The Financial Times, Iran signed a $2bn oil contract with Sinopec of China, sending a signal to western companies that they might miss out on potentially lucrative contracts with one of the world’s biggest energy exporters if they continued to heed US-led sanctions against Tehran. As the article notes: “…The contract to […]
Read more »SOCAR, So Good: Azeri-Kazakh Energy Cooperation
December 9th, 2007
As noted by Energy Daily, the Azeri government is actively reaching out to Kazakhstan and Russia as the Caspian’s ongoing hydrocarbon development produces a financial windfall for all. SOCAR, The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan, is beginning to export its services to Kazakhstan’s oil and gas sector by conducting onshore surveys, while Baku is also […]
Read more »Gazprom’s New Field and Enduring Supply Problems
December 9th, 2007
Via Stratfor (subscription required), an very insightful analysis of Gazprom’s new Yuzhno-Russkoye oil and natural gas field, due to come on line Dec. 18. However, as the report points out, even this 805 billion cubic meter field will not stem the overall decline in Gazprom’s natural gas production, highlighting the seriousness of the supply crunch […]
Read more »Turkmenistan’s High Stakes Poker Game Upon Which Many Promises Have Been Made
December 6th, 2007
From Eurasianet.org, a terrific look at Turkmenistan’s delicate balance of making promises to various regional hydrocarbon players, all without the benefit of a published, independent audit of the nation’s petroleum reserves. As the article notes: “…Turkmenistan is believed to be one of the top five nations in the world, in terms of natural gas reserves. […]
Read more »China’s Growing Influence in Kazakhstan
December 6th, 2007
As noted in the Eurasia Daily Monitor, Kazakhstan – despite its efforts to symbolically broaden its foreign policy with recent Presidential visits to places such as Syria, UAE, and the Balkans – and investments such as KazMunayGaz’s recent acquisition of a 75% stake in Romania’s Rompetrol Group, the Balkan pipeline route and East European markets […]
Read more »OAO Gazprom’s Unexpected Dow(ry)?
November 29th, 2007
Via Todd Sullivan’s Value Plays, an interesting review of a recent MOU signed between Russian natural gas monopoly OAO Gazprom and Dow Chemical outlining potential cooperation on refining gas from Russia’s Yamalo-Nemets autonomous district and the possibility of creating a joint venture based on Dow’s new petrochemical facilities in Germany. While I am not sure […]
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.