International


Viet Nam/South China Sea: Vietnam to Build Big Oil Rigs

Nov 8, 2014 | Dat Viet, VietnamNet

The Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), Vietsovpetro (the main investor) and PV Shipyard in October held a keel laying ceremony for the Tam…


Iraq Kurdistan Exported $3bn Worth of Oil in 2014

Nov 8, 2014 | PressTV

Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region has exported nearly three billion dollars worth of oil to southern Turkey since the beginning of 2014 despite Baghdad calling such…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Thanks to IS, Iraqi Kurdistan Sees Oil Revenues Rise by 60%

Nov 8, 2014 | Voltaire Network

Since the beginning of the crisis in Iraq four months ago, that is to say since the invasion of a part Iraq, prearranged between the…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraqi Envoy Says His Nation in Talks with Kurdistan over Oil on Tanker (subscription)

Nov 7, 2014 | Rhiannon Myers, Houston Chronicle

With falling oil prices stripping Kurdistan and Iraq of needed cash to fend off attacks from extremist militants, Iraq's ambassador to the United States said…


Iraq: Iraq Army Regains Full Control of Baiji Oil Refinery

Nov 7, 2014 | PressTV

Iraqi troops have retaken full control of the country’s biggest oil refinery on the outskirt of the northern town of Baiji in Salahuddin Province, Iraqi…


Water Wars: Water Crises Drying Seas, ‘Hydro-Diplomacy’ Needed: UN

Nov 7, 2014 | Randall Hackley, Bloomberg

Water crises are drying seas and creating a more urgent need for “hydro-diplomacy” to help avert conflict over shared rivers and lakes, the United Nations’…


China/ South China Sea: CNOOC Puts Second Deep-Water Rig into Use

Nov 6, 2014 | E China News

CNOOC Group Ltd, China's largest offshore oil and gas developer, announced on Wednesday that its semi-submersible drilling rig Nanhai Jiu Hao completed the first deep-water exploration well…


China/ India: China and India's Next Rivalry- Energy

Nov 6, 2014 | Huffington Post

With two of the fastest growing economies in the world, India and China are racing towards securing resources they need to sustain their economic growth.…


Myanmar: NGOs Say Ethnic Areas Have No ‘Virgin Lands’

Nov 6, 2014 | DVB News

The Ethnic Community Development Forum (ECDF) released a statement on Thursday which slammed Burma’s draft National Land Use Policy for failing to protect small-scale farmers…


Iraq/ Kurdistan: Iraqi Kurdistan Close to Economic Independence, Says Oil Minister

Nov 6, 2014 | Rudaw

The Iraqi Kurds are within sight of economic if not political independence with oil exports expected to rise to 500,000 barrels a day by early…


Syria: Syrian Army Regains Control of Oil Wells Captured by Islamic State

Nov 6, 2014 | Middle East Monitor

The Syrian army regained control on Wednesday over two important oil wells that had been seized recently by the Islamic State (ISIS), according to the…


Egypt: Analysis - Why Ethiopia and Egypt Aren't Fighting a Water War

Nov 6, 2014 | allAfrica

There were times last year, when the rhetoric in Cairo reached fever pitch, that some kind of conflict between Ethiopia and Egypt over the waters…


Conflict Minerals: Debate in the European Parliament on the European Commission’s Conflict Minerals Proposal

Nov 6, 2014 | National Law Review

On November 6, the Committee on International Trade (INTA) of the European Parliament will have a first exchange of views on the proposal presented in…


Kenya: Kenyan Law Aimed at Luring Mining Giants Sparks ‘Resource Curse’ Fears

Nov 6, 2014 | Andrew Thompson, The Guardian

Community and human rights advocates in Kenya are wary of a new mining bill that is on the verge of being passed into law.

Kenya’s national…


Central African Republic: Gold, Diamonds Fuelling Conflict in Central African Republic U.N. Panel Says

Nov 5, 2014 | Reuters

Gold and diamond sales are being used to finance conflict in Central African Republic and United Nations peacekeepers should monitor mining sites to clamp down…


China/ South China Sea: Energy Potential in Disputed Waters

Nov 5, 2014 | New Strait Times

FOR the past several years, China has been throwing its weight around the South China Sea, a body of water studded with coral reefs that…


Myanmar and EU Discuss Forestry Cooperation

Nov 5, 2014 | Mizzima

The European Union and Myanmar’s Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry recently held discussions about how Myanmar can encourage sustainable management of the country's forests…


Timor-Leste: East Timor Kicks out Judges over ConocoPhillips Tax Fight

Nov 5, 2014 | Reuters

East Timor has ordered five foreign judges out of the country after a court ruled in favour of U.S. oil and gas producer ConocoPhillips in…


Deer with 'Vampire Fangs' Spotted for 1st Time in Decades

Nov 5, 2014 | Kelly Dickerson

An endangered deer with vampire-like fangs was spotted for the first time in nearly 60 years, in a remote forest in northeastern Afghanistan.

The fanged creature…


Sierra Leone: Ebola's Catastrophic Consequences on Sierra Leone’s Small-Scale Mining Sector

Nov 4, 2014 | The Guardian

Ebola is having catastrophic economic consequences for Sierra Leone, where the disease is running rampant.

The country, together with the two other Mano River Union states, Liberia…


Uganda: Catalyst or Curse? East Africa’s Oil and Gas Boom

Nov 4, 2014 | World Politics Review

As he delivers his lecture from the breezy, pink-hued classroom, Robert Rutaro is optimistic about Uganda’s future in oil.

An attorney with a master’s degree in…


Liberia: Equatorial Revises Down Oil Palm Planting Target Due To Ebola Virus

Nov 4, 2014 | Alliance News

Equatorial Palm Oil PLC Tuesday said there have been no instances of the Ebola virus at its operations in Liberia and the company continues to…


Iraq: Carrots to Kalashnikovs- The Dangers Faced by Oil Workers Abroad

Nov 4, 2014 | The Guardian

As international oil companies begin to restart full operations in Iraq despite the continuing threat of attacks by Islamic State (Isis), one lifelong oil worker…


Iraq: Iraqi Troops, ISIS in Heated Battle for Oil Refinery

Nov 4, 2014 | Al Iraqiya

 Iraqi troops advanced toward the northern Iraqi city of Beiji on Tuesday, exchanging heavy fire with militants from the Islamic State group, footage from a…


Iraq: The KRG to Cooperate with USA to Put an End to ISIS' Oil Smuggling

Nov 3, 2014 | Kurdish Globe

The Islamic State (formerly ISIS) has been exporting oil from Northern Iraq to finance its activities, thanks to a solid network of smugglers. The Kurdistan…


Russia/Ukraine: Russia Continues to Train and Equip Ukraine Rebels, NATO Official Says

Nov 3, 2014 | New York Times

Hundreds of Russian troops are still training and equipping separatists in Ukraine, NATO’s top military commander said Monday, activities that are heightening tensions with the West…


Iraq/ Syria: This Is How ISIS Smuggles Oil

Nov 3, 2014 | Buzzfeed

This town on the Turkish-Syrian border is covered in trash. Residents refuse to let any outsiders — even garbagemen — inside. What makes Besaslan more…


Iraq/ Kurdistan: Baghdad Blacklists Foreign Tankers

Nov 3, 2014 | Arabian Supply Chain

Iraq’s oil marketing agency has banned three foreign tankers from Iraqi ports, according to the Platts news service, citing market sources.

Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organisation…


Af-Pak 2014: Waste of the Environment

Nov 3, 2014 | Wazhma Fazli, Ghotei Safi and Abdur Razzaq 

Chronic air pollution, filthy water and mountains of garbage in cities are creating a pandemic of respiratory and water-borne diseases both sides of the Durand…


Conflict Minerals: Scotland Leading Way in Fight to Stop War, Slavery and Misery Powering our Technology

Nov 2, 2014 | Herald Scotland

Every time you switch on your mobile, power up your laptop or even switch on a light, you could unwittingly be fuelling slavery, civil wars…