Tag Archives: Energy Security

Resolute development of the already explored and accessible Ukrainian resources could result in a substantial increase of Ukrainian gas production. The boost would not only enable the country to fully cover its domestic gas needs, but also make Ukraine largely self-sufficient from an energy perspective. In a best-case scenario, increased production could even allow Ukraine to start exporting gas to or via neighboring European states. This would be feasible because Ukraine’s substantial gas transportation system means that the necessary infrastructure is already in place to bring large amounts of gas to the EU.

Ethiopia has been building the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile River since 2011. During this period relations between Egypt and Ethiopia became strained with mutual threats and accusations. Moreover, there is a risk of water conflict in Africa, which would completely destabilize East Africa. After construction, GERD will be the largest […]

There are two major topics in transatlantic relations that constantly hit the headlines: burden sharing and energy security. The latter is best exemplified by Nord Stream 2—a pipeline that will transport natural gas from Russia to Germany while bypassing Ukraine—which has driven a wedge between European and transatlantic unity. If completed, this pipeline would challenge the principle of fair play in the European market, existing European regulatory protections for consumers, and the political cohesion of the transatlantic relationship.

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station photographing East Asia were surprised when they saw a ‘black hole’ between China and South Korea.

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.

After eight years of planning, funds have become available for the planned 310 megawatt (MW) Lake Turkana wind farm project estimated to cost $775 million – the largest private investment in Kenya’s history.

During President Obama’s recent trip spanning China, Myanmar and Australia, he along with Chinese President Xi Jingping announced what amounts to a historic agreement between the nations to reduce greenhouse emissions (amongst agreements to extend visas and trade deals to eliminate tariffs on IT products).

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.

  Considering the violent political unrest in various parts of the world, many accept the claim that the 21st century will go down in history as a period of global reorder, perpetual insecurity and bloodshed. If the grim headlines of the first decade could be taken as forecasts of the storms ahead, many nation-states are […]

  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 […]

Is a solution to the ongoing, four-decade long Cypriot crisis finally at hand? Judging by the insinuated words of Joe Biden during his recent visit to the divided island, so it may seem. It is no happenstance that the second time a U.S. vice president visits Cyprus after Lyndon Johnson’s visit of 1962 took place […]

Ever since Moscow decided to up the ante and invade the Crimean peninsula, shale gas reentered journalist lingo. Many have chipped in the debate, including Speaker of the House John Boehner who has argued that American gas is the sole remedy for Russia’s dominance of the European energy market. His diagnosis was that since natural […]

Amidst the host of this year’s forthcoming Twitterverse epitaphs will be yet another neoliberal linguistic invention (think along the same lines as previous ones: globalization and/or glocalization): fracking. Hydraulic fracturing (as it is formally known) is a mix of fracturing and cracking.  It is the energy industry practice of exploding shale rock material thousands of meters […]

The world gas market is currently dominated by gas exporting behemoths like Qatar, Russia, Algeria, and Iran. Natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuel–compared to coal and oil–and therefore encourages an increase in power plants that run on natural gas. Many coal-fired power plants in the U.S. are being retrofitted right now because of the abundance […]

As the geopolitics and technology of natural gas continue to change rapidly—with such developments as shale gas production and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) transport—the European community would do well to consider the strategic value of supply diversification. Crises in 2006 and 2009, both the result of intentional supply decreases from Russia, highlight the risks of overdependence on any one source for this vital commodity. But overreliance on Russia is not the only possible source of distress for the European market: from environmental concerns to instability in other potential supplier nations, every natural gas supply comes with its own set of challenges and risks. For this reason, an “all sources” strategy for natural gas production (one that spreads the risk and minimizes the impact of a reduction in any one source of supply) should characterize the European approach in years to come.