Kazakhstan at a Critical Minerals Crossroads: Tungsten and Middle Power Resource Sovereignty
February 28th, 2026
Via The Diplomat, a report on how Kazakhstan finds itself at the intersection of two structural trends: the militarization of the global economy and the technological rivalry between the United States and China: Amid the global race for critical minerals and rising defense spending, Kazakhstan is re-emerging as a significant player in the tungsten sector. […]
Read more »‘Big Beautiful Belt’ of US-Aligned States Takes Form Across Eurasia
February 18th, 2026
Via Nikkei Asia, a look at the growing number of middle powers seeking closer ties to Trump: A belt of U.S.-aligned states is taking shape across Eurasia, and President Donald Trump will bring many of its members to Washington on Thursday for the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace. A bulk of the board’s […]
Read more »How Chevron Aims to Tap More Oil Below Kazakhstan’s Grassy Plains
January 5th, 2026
Courtesy of The New York Times, a look at how – after spending nearly $50 billion to expand Kazakhstan’s Tengiz oil field – the American oil giant and its partners encounter more uncertainty: More than two miles below the windswept steppe of western Kazakhstan, porous rocks composed of the skeletons of coral and other ancient […]
Read more »How China and the Gulf States are Shaping Central Asia’s Energy Transition
December 31st, 2025
Via East Asia Forum, an article on how China and the Gulf states are shaping Central Asia’s energy transition: China and the Gulf states are expanding renewable energy investment in Central Asia. Through complementary competition, they vie for influence while occupying distinct and often mutually supportive roles in clean energy projects, particularly in Kazakhstan and […]
Read more »Looking Back at a Hot Railroad Summer for Central Asia and Afghanistan
September 11th, 2025
Via The Diplomat, a look back at the summer of Central Asian railroads, when – in July – Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan all signed agreements with Afghanistan related to the development of railways: On July 31, Turkmenistan signed a $5 million agreement with Afghanistan to jointly develop and invest in the expansion of Torghundi, a dry […]
Read more »The Changing Skies Over Central Asia
August 6th, 2025
Via The Diplomat, an article on how – with a rapid expansion in flights to, from, and within the region – the aviation industry is starting to reshape Central Asia: For all the talk of infrastructure corridors, the real transport success story of the last few years in Central Asia has been in the air. […]
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.