Via The Financial Times, another look at the possibility of a Gas OPEC (GOPEC) and, more specifically, the unlikelihood of its success until LNG infrastructure becomes more pervasive around the world. As the article notes “…Exactly 35 years ago, the Arab oil embargo sent western economies into their worst downturn of the postwar period. So […]
Read more »Via Energy Daily, a report that a partially built Russian oil pipeline to Asia will not be connected to China in 2009. As noted in the article, a spur planned to be built from the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline to the Chinese border in 2009 cannot be put into operation next year: “…China has […]
Read more »Via The New York Times, an interesting look at Azerbaijan, the small, oil-rich country on the Caspian Sea, which has balanced the interests of Russia (to its north) and the United States since it won its independence from the Soviet Union. But since Russia and Georgia fought a short war this summer, its path has […]
Read more »As reported by The Huffington Post, Russia, Iran and Qatar – which together account for nearly a third of world natural gas exports and hold some 60 percent of world gas reserves – made the first serious moves recently toward forming an OPEC-style cartel on natural gas, raising concerns that Moscow could boost its influence […]
Read more »Via Stratfor (subscription required), an in-depth look at recent consideration by China’s state-owned energy giant PetroChina to acquire smaller foreign energy companies that have been weakened by the global financial contagion. As the article notes, while PetroChina stands to benefit from such acquisitions — as do China’s energy-craving domestic industries and markets — the company’s […]
Read more »Via The International Herald Tribune, an interesting look at the recent (mis)fortunes of Russia, Iran, and Venezuela in their bids to challenge United States hegemony in the aftermath of falling oil prices. As the article notes: “…For all three nations, oil money was a means to an ideological end. President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela used […]
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