Foreign Policy Blogs

Energy

China, Rare Earths, and Green Technology

While I am not a specialist in green technology, I could not help but be depressed by an article in the New York Times Tuesday about China’s rare earth minerals and metals.   The Times and many other papers announced Tuesday that China which “currently accounts for 93 percent of production of so-called rare earth elements” […]

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Chevron vs. Ecuador

Oil giant Chevron says that it had obtained video recordings — and has posted them on its website —  that appear to show an Ecuadorean political operative seeking $3 million in bribes, in connection with a $27 billion lawsuit the company. It is the latest wrinkle in the on-going class action lawsuit brought by dozens […]

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Uganda's Oil

Central Africa is not the first place energy people traditionally think of when it comes to oil. Now it appears Uganda may have up to 2 billion barrels of the stuff, according to their government. The question is what to do about it. Uganda would like to have a refinery, although some oil companies say this […]

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Is Protecting the Environment Too Expensive?

One of the greatest bones of contention about extracting fossil fuels — in the industrialized world anyway — is the damage it can or will do to the environment. The industries resist the idea. Do the costs of environmental protections cripple the production of newer, more unconventional fields, as the industry has long proclaimed? Apparently […]

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In the Land of Astroturf

A Gallup poll done two weeks ago reveals that of all industries, Americans rated the oil and gas worst, even worse than banking, GM and lawyers. There have been some annoyed, defensive responses from workers in the oil and gas field — understandable since most people in the industry are hard-working, honest and understandably offended at […]

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Sweet Crude, the movie

The new documentary film, Sweet Crude, directed by Sandy Cioffi, offers a rare visceral look at the enormous problems facing the people of Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger River delta. Everyone interested in energy knows the complexity of the problem: massive oil reserves, oil companies only too willing to get into bed with corrupt military dictators (or […]

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For A Very Rainy Day

In my family, there is the story of how, when one of my aunts sold her house, her sisters, helping her empty the place, found 27 boxes of Fab detergent squirreled away in the kitchen cupboard. In case she should ever run out, and besides it was on sale, you see. Something like this may […]

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Oil and Dates in Iraq

On Friday, the New York Times reported that Iraq’s date production, has fallen to half of what it was in the 1980s, when the country was the world’s leading date producer. “Date palms have been left to die for lack of water, and fungi and pests have ruined thousands of tons of fruit because the […]

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Green tech leaders complain about lack of funding, but it is not just money

Green tech leaders complain about lack of funding, but it is not just money

Green tech leaders meeting this week in Las Vegas at the National Clean Energy Summit conference sponsored by Democratic Majority Leader Senator Harry Reid used the opportunity to complain about the lack of government support. Despite recent announcements from the Obama Administration that some initiatives are moving, the money is not going out the door […]

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The dangerous intersection of energy, politics and business

The dangerous intersection of energy, politics and business

Australian Foreign Minister Steven Smith stated today that Stern Hu, General Manager of Rio Tinto China, was detained on espionage charges earlier this week. Hu’s firm, Rio Tinto, is a major Australian supplier of iron ore (a necessary ingredient for making steel). The company is currently negotiating annual contracts with China that dictate pricing terms […]

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Speculation about commodity speculation

In a lightly publicized event over the weekend, a trader in London at PVM Oil Futures, the largest oil trading firm, made “unauthorized” purchases of oil contracts at 2 am. The trades pushed the price of Brent crude up to $73.50/bbl on Tuesday, the highest price this year, before dropping to $66 by the end […]

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Russian president’s assurances fail to mask resource ambition

Russian president’s assurances fail to mask resource ambition

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev attempted to allay global fears that Moscow is trying to amass access to natural resources this week during a trip through Egypt, Nigeria, Namibia and Angola as he signed billion dollar energy deals providing Russia a greater foothold in Africa . In Angola, Medvedev emphasized that these resource contracts were important […]

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Russia's energy quest moves to Africa

Russia's energy quest moves to Africa

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is on a 4-nation tour this week through Africa to push his expansive international energy policy. Today, his former company, Russian gas giant Gazprom, signed a $2.5 bln deal with its counterpart in Nigeria to build infrastructure including refineries, pipelines and gas power stations. The deal gives access to Nigeria’s resources […]

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The gas conflicts of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia: Fears of a long cold winter in Europe

The gas conflicts of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia: Fears of a long cold winter in Europe

The European Union plans to announce today that it sees possible disruptions for its gas supplies from Russia via Ukraine, a liklihood we identified earlier this year. What’s worse, Gazprom is now demanding $230 in debt payments from Belarus, another key gas transit route to western Europe. The payments from Belarus may stem from a […]

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Another day in DC, another battle lost for oil companies.

Today the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted for an amendment, as part of a comprehensive energy bill, which would give the Secretary of the Interior Department flexibility in suspending mandatory royalty payments to companies for the production of oil and gas. The incentives, originally part of the 2005 Energy Bill, allow oil companies […]

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