So-called dirty bombs would probably not produce large numbers of casualties but could yield big headlines, impose heavy costs, and terrorize more effectively than is possible with conventional explosive devices. Concerns about nonconventional terrorism at the Rio Summer Olympics, and reports that persons involved in the November 2015 Islamic State (IS) attack in Paris had… Keep reading →
While the current focus is on declining oil prices – which hit four-year lows yesterday – the longer-term oil market picture could feature downward supply pressure and a demand surge that forces prices right back up, according to IEA’s flagship World Energy Outlook 2014. The agency cautions against allowing current supply/demand fundamentals to breed complacency.… Keep reading →
Majid Jafar, CEO of Crescent Petroleum, suggests in an article titled “What can the Middle East learn from the US shale boom?” three ways for regional policymakers to bring interconnectivity to the Middle East’s oil and gas market as well as accompanying infrastructure. These steps are intended – in his words – to “unleash a… Keep reading →
Admiral Mike Mullen, retired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke on U.S. energy security last Wednesday in Washington DC at an event hosted by the groups Securing America’s Future Energy and the Foreign Policy Initiative. Mullen was asked whether the US can take advantage of the surge in domestic energy production as a… Keep reading →
Maria van der Hoeven, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) spoke last week at the two-day Energy Information Administration (EIA) conference in Washington, D.C. expressing her view – as reported by Jennifer A. Dlouhy for fuelfix.com – that “ending ‘wasteful fossil fuel subsidies’, which may encourage overconsumption of oil and gas, particularly in… Keep reading →
Rolling back energy subsidies is one of the most vexing problems energy export-revenue-dependent countries face. The problems starts innocently enough when countries discovery vast natural resource deposits and begin profiting substantially from their development. In developing economies, it has been common practice everywhere from Venezuela to Nigeria to the Middle East to supply the population… Keep reading →
Moscow and Beijing have danced around a natural gas supply deal for over a decade, with price being the major sticking point, but the current dust up with Europe over Ukraine could finally open the door to price conciliation. “Conversely, on the Russian side, Gazprom might finally sign a natural gas supply deal with China,… Keep reading →
A deal to buy Israeli natural gas can help mitigate the kingdom’s energy shortage and steer Amman away from problematic nuclear plans, but it risks stirring domestic opposition. In February, two private Jordanian firms signed a contract with a private U.S.-Israeli consortium to import natural gas from Israel’s giant Tamar field, located under the bed… Keep reading →
Scientists at the UAE’s Masdar Institute conducted detailed regional power consumption analysis that found GCC countries plus Iran, Iraq and Egypt (GCC+) need considerable incremental renewable energy capacity to meet power demand without increasing hydrocarbon consumption. “We found that if current energy supply and demand trends continue, regional electricity production capacity growth will outpace GDP… Keep reading →
Iran has the world’s largest proven natural gas reserves (second largest depending on the data source) – 18% of the world total – but has struggled to get its export program off the ground. Iran exports gas to Turkey via pipeline – 7.5 Bcm in 2012 – and negligible volumes to Azerbaijan and Armenia, also… Keep reading →
