International
Timor-Leste: Six Years after the Montara Oil Spill, Those Who Suffered Most Still Seek Compensation
Aug 30, 2015
|
News.com.au
On August 21, 2009, the West Atlas rig owned by the Norwegian-Bermudan Seadrill and operated by Perth-based operation PTTEP Australasia Montara sprung a leak. For…
South Sudan: African Union Commission Says Oil Resources Must Benefit the People for Lasting Peace
Aug 30, 2015
|
Ann Garrison, Bay View
The warring parties in South Sudan’s 20-month civil war signed a peace agreement in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, earlier this week. The civil war which began…
Conflict Diamonds: Africa’s Blood Diamonds are Dawood's Latest Biz, Intelligence Agencies Say
Aug 30, 2015
|
Raj Shekhar, Times News Network
Investigators working to identify underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's offshore assets have stumbled on a startling fact: The fugitive is now in the business of conflict…
Sierra Leone: Spain Detains Belgian Sierra Leone Diamond Trafficker
Aug 28, 2015
|
Expatica
Spanish police said Friday they have detained a Belgian man wanted for allegedly trafficking diamonds in Sierra Leone during the west African country's decade-long civil…
Middle East: Water Wars? Devastating Shortages Will Fuel MidEast Conflicts for 25 yrs – Report
Aug 28, 2015
|
RT
In a worrying global trend, the Middle East is set for a record water shortage to strike over the next 25 years. The global fallout…
Sierra Leone: The Ebola Crisis Is Over, but Tiffany Is Still Paying for It
Aug 27, 2015
|
Kyle Stock, Bloomberg
The recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa is hitting Tiffany & Co.'s bottom line. In 2011, the company lent about $50 million to a miner in Sierra…
Iraq: Oil Prices Compound Iraq’s Stability Concerns
Aug 27, 2015
|
Nick Cunningham, OilPrice.com
Iraq has managed to ratchet up oil production to record highs, against what would seem to be insurmountable obstacles. Despite political gridlock, a fight against…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Kurds Pledge Oil Company Payments to Boost Output
Aug 27, 2015
|
Daniel J. Graeber, United Press International
A move to issue regular payments to oil companies operating in the Kurdish north of Iraq should help them endure the market downturn, the government…
Liberia: Has Liberia Found the Way to Share its Forest Plenty with the Poor?
Aug 26, 2015
|
Max Bankole Jarrett, Guardian
The “paradox of plenty” debate tends to focus on fossil fuels and minerals. Countries that are rich in these resources are often – paradoxically –…
Iraq: The Long Fight over an Iraq Oil Town Whose Importance Is Now Debatable
Aug 26, 2015
|
Thomas Gibbons-Neff, Washington Post
After more than a year of near-constant fighting, there is still no sign that the battle for the Iraqi town of Baiji and its massive…
Timor-Leste: East Timor PM Seeks to Diversify Economy with Help of Oil Fund
Aug 26, 2015
|
Randy Fabi, Reuters
East Timor will tap into its $16.6 billion oil fund to build the necessary infrastructure to attract non-energy investment, the prime minister said on Wednesday,…
DRC: Portland Goes Conflict-Free
Aug 26, 2015
|
Enough Project
Activists and policymakers are celebrating the Portland City Council’s vote today to enact a policy to ensure that cellular devices and other key communication equipment purchased by the city are not connected to…
Uganda: Museveni Orders Probe into Karamoja Land Grabbing
Aug 25, 2015
|
Steven Ariong, The Monitor
President Museveni has ordered investigations into land grabbing in Karamoja sub-region where many residents face eviction by some people purporting to be investors. The President…
Iraq: Iraq Oil Minister Says $9 bln in Arrears Paid to Oil Firms
Aug 25, 2015
|
Reuters
Iraq has paid foreign oil companies $9 billion in remaining arrears for 2014 and was paying outstanding fees for 2015 in stages until the beginning…
Ukraine: UN Giving Chickens to Small Farms in Ukraine
Aug 25, 2015
|
Prague Post
Some 7,000 three-week-old layer-broiler chickens are being distributed this week to small farms in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Provision of the birds is the latest…
South Sudan: South Sudan’s Loan Requests to Oil Companies Rebuffed
Aug 25, 2015
|
Radio Tamazuj
South Sudan’s government has been unsuccessfully seeking $200 million in loans from oil companies since June 2014, according to officials. Officials in both the ministry…
China/Vietnam/South China Sea: China Oil Rig to Keep Drilling in Waters Disputed with Vietnam
Aug 25, 2015
|
Reuters
A Chinese oil rig at the center of last year's standoff between China and Vietnam will continue drilling not far from Vietnam's coast, China's maritime…
Water Wars: "Water Wars Are a Myth" - Expert Says Many Govts Eager to Cooperate
Aug 24, 2015
|
Magdalena Mis, Thomson Reuters Foundation
The doom and gloom predictions of increasing battles around the world over water are a myth, with only a handful of disagreements over shared waters…
China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Controversial China Rig Completes Drilling Well Near Vietnam Coast
Aug 24, 2015
|
Reuters
The Chinese oil rig at the center of last year's standoff between China and Vietnam over oil exploration in the South China Sea has completed…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Israel turns to Kurds for Three-Quarters of its Oil Supplies
Aug 23, 2015
|
David Sheppard, John Reed, and Anjli Raval, Financial Times
Israel has bought as much as three-quarters of its oil from Iraqi Kurdistan in recent months, the Financial Times reported Sunday. According to the report,…
Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone Gold and Diamond Exports Plummet Due to Ebola
Aug 22, 2015
|
AFP
Sierra Leone said Saturday gold exports had plunged three-fold and diamond exports nearly halved in the first half of 2015, a sign of the devastation…
Liberia: Shake-Up at Liberia Oil Firm Leaves Managers, Scores out of Job
Aug 22, 2015
|
Rodney D. Sieh, FrontPageAfrica
Weeks after a FrontPageAfrica investigative report pointed to looming bankruptcy at the National Oil Company of Liberia, a decision has reportedly been reached to downsize…
Sierra Leone: H1 Diamond Exports Drop after Peak in April
Aug 21, 2015
|
Awoko
Diamond exports for the first half (H1) of 2015 have dropped from a high of 64.5 thousand carats in April to 35.6 thousand carats in…
Zimbabwe: Housing Co-operative Sues Chikwinya for Land ‘Grabbing’
Aug 20, 2015
|
Xolisani Ncube, NewsDay
Woman Affairs minister Nyasha Chikwinya has been taken to court for allegedly falsifying documents to claim ownership of land occupied by a housing co-operative in…
Food Security: Peace is Good for Food Security - Sasu
Aug 19, 2015
|
Samuel Hinneh, GhanaWeb
Born into a farming family where Lydia Sasu, a farmer and the executive director of Development Action Association (DAA) witnessed her mother struggle to make…
DRC: SEC’s Disclosure Requirement on Conflict Minerals Again Ruled Unconstitutional — What Now?
Aug 19, 2015
|
Jessica S. Lochmann, Frank S. Murray, and Mark T. Plichta, National Law Review
In a long-awaited decision, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (DC Circuit) reaffirmed its prior decision,…
Cambodia: Cambodian Government Takes Umbrage at US Congressman’s Comments on Land Grabs
Aug 18, 2015
|
Radio Free Asia
Cambodia’s Ministry of Land Management is acting in accordance with the country’s laws and making an effort to respect citizens’ rights, a ministry official said…
DRC: D.C. Court Unleashes Conflict by Throwing out Conflict-Minerals Rule
Aug 18, 2015
|
Daniel Fisher, Forbes
A federal appeals court in Washington threw out a regulation under the Dodd-Frank Act requiring public companies to state whether they use “conflict minerals” in…
Iraq: Iraq's Economy in Trouble
Aug 18, 2015
|
Sinan Salaheddin, Associated Press
As of July, Iraq's oil revenues stood at $31.5 billion, according to Oil Ministry figures, with an average daily export capacity less than a 3.3…
Iraq/Kurdistan/Turkey: Iraqi Kurdistan Says Oil Pipeline Sabotage Cost It $501 mln
Aug 18, 2015
|
Reuters
Repeated sabotage by "organised gangs" of the oil pipeline from northern Iraq to Turkey has cost the autonomous Kurdistan region $501 million since July 1,…