The announcement by the Norwegian Nobel Committee in October 2009 that Barack Obama had won the Peace Prize came as a surprise to just about everyone, including the recipient. The president, barely nine months into his new job, knew that the award was an encouragement of his aspirations, not recognition of his accomplishments. He said […]
In a few quick decisions, President Vladimir Putin has devastated Russia’s energy policy. This daring radical change of strategy will primarily hit state revenues. The essence of these policy changes is renationalization, a massive increase in capital expenditure and reduced efficiency. For years,Gazprom has carried out too large capital expenditures, 70 percent of which investment analysts euphemistically with call “value detraction,” which really means corruption or […]
Like many of you I am eagerly awaiting the new James Bond film Skyfall, especially Javier Bardem’s star turn as Raoul Silva, the classic Bond villain with his outlandish plot to pay 60% over market price for a Canadian oil company. No, wait, that’s from the business pages, isn’t it? You’ll forgive me: the stories sound […]
While energy is not a top-tier issue for the American public, Obama and Romney present very different visions for how the United States will generate and consume energy over the next four years – and perhaps set the stage for the next twenty. They provide a clear choice for American voters and explicit differences for […]
This summer, a group known as the “Cutting Sword of Justice” slashed its way across world headlines with bold attacks on oil and gas industry. But what makes the series attacks noteworthy is not that they were successfully planned and carried out, it’s how they happened: in cyberspace. Brazen cyber-attacks were carried out against Saudi […]
Edelmina Flores thanks God and Hugo Chávez for her apartment in a new housing complex in the Venezuelan president’s home state of Barinas. She might also want to thank the Chinese government. Since 2007, the China Development Bank has lent Venezuela $42.5 billion, backed by revenue from Venezuelan crude. That sum accounts for nearly a quarter […]
When one looks at Israeli history, the two wars that changed and defined the country the most were the Six Day War of 1967 and the Yom Kippur War of 1973. The Six Day War put Israel on the map as a true military force in the Middle East, and gave it the respect it […]
The most important facts about Iran go unstated because they are so obvious. Any glance at a map would tell us what they are. And these facts explain how regime change or evolution in Tehran — when, not if, it comes — will dramatically alter geopolitics from the Mediterranean to the Indian subcontinent and beyond. […]
A new report from Citigroup’s Heidy Rehman suggests that Saudi Arabia’s domestic petroleum consumption may equal production in 2030, leaving none to export. Of course, it won’t get this far—the kingdom’s balance of trade would quickly become unsustainable as oil exports dropped—but the report still highlights one of the many distortions in the Saudi economy. Read Here – […]
With Arctic ice melting at record pace, the world’s superpowers are increasingly jockeying for political influence and economic position in outposts like this one, previously regarded as barren wastelands. At stake are the Arctic’s abundant supplies of oil, gas and minerals that are, thanks to climate change, becoming newly accessible along with increasingly navigable polar shipping shortcuts. […]
looking beyond borders 