New Russian airstrikes in the south could portend a wider regime, Hezbollah, and Iranian ground campaign there, potentially violating Israel’s Golan redline and exacerbating Jordan’s refugee problems. On October 28, for the first time since Moscow began its air campaign in Syria, Russian jets reportedly targeted rebel forces in the south. The strikes focused on… Keep reading →
The missile strikes on targets in Syria showed unprecedented cooperation between Russia and Iran, but they also serve as a wakeup call to Tehran about Moscow’s expanding military profile in the Caspian. On October 7, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that its warships had fired twenty-six cruise missiles from the central Caspian Sea at eleven… Keep reading →
The bold military gamble in Syria surprised and confused the international community, but Putin has given the United States and Turkey a reason to more assertively counter Russia’s ambitions in its own backyard. While all eyes are on Moscow’s dramatic entry into the Syria conflict, policymakers and military planners should not forget about Vladimir Putin’s… Keep reading →
Potential military action against Iran would be much more risky if the regime does in fact acquire the advanced S-300 antiaircraft missiles, but Moscow and Tehran have significant obstacles to overcome before that occurs. One of the early consequences of the nuclear agreement with Iran has been revived negotiations over the sale of Russian S-300… Keep reading →
The Obama administration’s new Clean Power Plan has been welcomed by renewable industries since its announcement on Monday, consolidating the changes in electricity generation, and the recent boom in solar and wind energy. [The Washington Post] Russia has submitted a bid to the UN claiming vast territories of the Arctic, the country’s foreign ministry announced on… Keep reading →
A new E3G Briefing Paper calls into question official EU projections regarding EU gas demand, which raises important questions about the economic viability of new gas import infrastructure – both pipelines and especially LNG terminals – and, by extension, about gas supply diversification efforts to enhance overall EU energy security. The following chart shows that… Keep reading →
Russian oil output neared record figures during May, despite speculation before an OPEC meeting this week that major producers may cooperate to curb a global supply surplus. “Production of oil and natural-gas condensate climbed 1.6 percent from a year earlier to 10.708 million barrels a day, close to January’s post-Soviet record of 10.713 million barrels… Keep reading →
Major FIFA sponsors came out with statements of concern after the arrests of officials and ex-officials from the global soccer governing body as well as various marketing executives. Visa was particularly strong in calling on FIFA to take “immediate steps” to clean itself up. “Should FIFA fail to do so, we have informed them that we will reassess our… Keep reading →
Just a month after oil major Royal Dutch Shell announced that it would acquire BG Group, the UK’s third largest energy company, for $70 billion in cash and stock, making it the biggest energy deal in a decade, Shell’s CEO Ben Van Beurden was off to China to convince regulators there that the deal did… Keep reading →
Everyone knows how Europe’s dependence on Russian natural gas has been a complicating factor (to say the least) for Western political leaders in their reaction to Vladimir Putin’s Ukrainian adventures. And now energy analysts are seeing the Russian president lining up similar leverage with nuclear power, in Eastern Europe and beyond. “Gazprom cutting Ukraine’s energy just… Keep reading →
