Foreign Policy Blogs

Tag Archives: energy

Dammed If You Do, Damned If You Don’t: Cooperation in the Nile Basin

Dammed If You Do, Damned If You Don’t: Cooperation in the Nile Basin

Issues like water governance and cross-border coordination of energy supply are likely to become much more thorny diplomatic exercises to deal with.

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The Energy Sector: A Prime Target for Cyber Attacks

The Energy Sector: A Prime Target for Cyber Attacks

U.S. lawmakers are concerned about the lack of preparation for a possible long term power outage caused by a cyber-attack against the energy sector.

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Algeria: Bunkering Down in a Bad Neighborhood

Algeria: Bunkering Down in a Bad Neighborhood

From the outside, Algeria seems relatively stable, especially in contrast to Libya and Egypt. Behind the scenes, however, a succession crisis is underway

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Isolated Systems: The Political Economy of Iranian-Turkmen Relations

Isolated Systems: The Political Economy of Iranian-Turkmen Relations

Economic and political isolation envelop the two energy giants.

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The Continuing Losing Hand

The Continuing Losing Hand

The tragic outbreak of Ebola in Liberia that has killed at least 1,800 people has only added another debilitating layer on top of a slew of other concerns the government and its citizens are trying to overcome, especially years of civil war that ravaged the nation.

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Mexico’s Energy Reforms

Mexico’s Energy Reforms

Eight months after constitutional amendments were introduced to reform Mexico’s oil and gas, and electricity sectors, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto took a historic step and signed energy reform bills passed by the Congress of the Union into law.

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Iraq’s Oil Split

Iraq’s Oil Split

  It is not breaking news that Iraq sits atop vast amounts of oil. The country has the fifth largest proven crude oil reserves globally with an estimated 140 billion barrels. (For comparison: Iran, fourth globally, has an estimated 150 billion barrels, and Kuwait, sixth globally, has about 104 billion barrels of proved reserves. Iraq […]

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Beyond Local Content: Catalyzing Job Creation in Ghana’s Oil Sector

Beyond Local Content: Catalyzing Job Creation in Ghana’s Oil Sector

By Sarah Lawson and Marina Tolchinsky The discovery of oil off Ghana’s coast in 2007 sparked both excitement and concern. While the actual finds were modest in comparison with regional oil powerhouses such as Nigeria and Angola, it was estimated that oil exports could bring $1 billion in gross annual revenues.[1] As the country began […]

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Oil is treasure as African piracy shifts west

Oil is treasure as African piracy shifts west

The Kerala cargo vessel loaded with 60,000 tons of diesel on January 18 was an easy target for pirates lurking in the waters off West Africa. After maritime security firms warned of a tugboat stalking the Kerala off the coast of Angola, the tanker’s communication systems were turned off and the ship went missing for […]

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Smog is enemy #1 in China’s ‘war on pollution’

Smog is enemy #1 in China’s ‘war on pollution’

After an overwhelming majority of China’s urban centers failed to meet environmental standards in 2013, Premier Li Keqiang declared a “war on pollution,” promising to improve the country’s blanketing smog endemic. In his report to parliament on Mar. 5, Premier Li Keqiang said he would fight to eliminate the air pollution problem that shrouds 95 […]

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U.S./U.K. Defense: Let’s Talk About Tech

U.S./U.K. Defense:  Let’s Talk About Tech

Young eyes pull upward, searching for the man buried beneath thick matted grass. A soldier stands encircled by a small crowd draped in a sniper’s woodland ghillie suit, a disguise useless against the dusty soil of Horse Guards Parade. But that’s the point.  For on a brisk London day last October, among parachuters and fly-overs, […]

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In Fukushima’s shadow, Japan sees a nuclear revival

In Fukushima’s shadow, Japan sees a nuclear revival

Following the release of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s new energy plan, nuclear reactors are set to restart across the island nation three years after the Fukushima disaster, leaving many fearing another radioactive plume. Citing economic and environmental concerns, Abe unveiled his government’s 20-year Basic Energy Plan on February 25, which aims to restart at […]

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Can Mozambique be the Next LNG Hotbed?

Can Mozambique be the Next LNG Hotbed?

Like many other African countries, Mozambique has enormous potential, but there are many gaps to fill. Led by its natural resources, the economy has been booming with real GDP growth reaching 7.4 percent in 2012, seven percent in 2013 and is predicted to reach 8.5 percent between 2014–16, according to the World Bank. London based […]

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Filling Ethiopia’s Power Void

Filling Ethiopia’s Power Void

East Africa is on the verge of personifying an energy transformation. New advances in natural gas, wind, geothermal, solar power and potentially oil are emerging to feed the hungry markets, while large hydro will continue to expand as well. Ethiopia, a country of 92 million and 7+ percent economic growth, has been a driver in […]

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Singapore steals the show at the Arctic Circle

Singapore steals the show at the Arctic Circle

For all the talk of China and the Arctic, there’s one dark horse that definitely made itself known at the Arctic Circle: Singapore. With a speech that hit all the right notes, Sam Tan Chin Siong, Senior Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a Member of Parliament, described the contributions Singapore can […]

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