Russia and Venezuela: Closer Cooperation in Oil & Gas Markets
July 23rd, 2008
As reported in The International Herald Tribune, President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela and President Dmitri Medvedev of Russia recently declared that their countries would more closely coordinate their actions on global oil and gas markets. As the article notes: “…Medvedev said it was still possible that Russia could join with Venezuela and other gas-producing nations […]
Read more »Venezuelan Issues
July 21st, 2008
Courtesy of NPR, a review of the state of affairs in Venezuela’s oilpatch. As the article – an interview with Michael Shifter with the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington – notes:  …Hugo Chavez has introduced a new form of governance. And there was a strike at the oil company at the end of 2002, early 2003. […]
Read more »Resource Nationalism and The New Seven Sisters
June 8th, 2008
A very interesting Reuters article on how resource nationalism — countries nationalizing and controlling their domestic oil industries — is changing the way global oil markets respond to higher prices. After all, when you can revenue acceleration from a finite resource without increasing supply, why bother pumping more? As the report notes: “…Resource nationalism in […]
Read more »Chavez “Oils” Venezuela’s Ties with China, But At A Cost
May 7th, 2008
Via Stratfor (subscription required), very interesting analysis of PetroChina’s deal with Venezuelan oil company Petroleos de Venezuela to build a 400,000 barrels per day refinery in China’s Guangdong province designed to process Venezuelan bitumen oil (extremely heavy, sour oil) into orimulsion, a fuel developed and patented by PDVSA. The deal allows Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez […]
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 »The Thirsty Dragon Deals With Chavez
January 2nd, 2008
An interesting report in the Christian Science Monitor, detailing a new oil exploration deal between China and Venezuela – China’s largest single investment in an overseas energy project to date. And while Venezuela’s motivation is likely political in nature, i.e. it is seeking a strategic geopolitical alliance, China is primarily seeking a steady supply of […]
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.