International


Exclusive: Iraq Builds Up Arrears to Majors as Oil Price Drops - Sources

Mar 11, 2015 | Dmitry Zhdannikov and Alex Lawler, Reuters

Iraq is building up debts to the oil companies developing its giant fields, industry sources said, a further sign of how the oil-price drop is…


Liberia: GVL, Citizens Reach Agreement

Mar 10, 2015 | N. Dweh Nimley, The NEWS (Monrovia)

Citizens of Butaw Administrative District in Sinoe County have reportedly reached an agreement with Golden Veroleum Liberia (GVL) for the expansion and development of land…


Sierra Leone: Ebola Crisis Could Force Sierra Leone to Diversify away from Mining

Mar 10, 2015 | The Guardian

As Sierra Leone looks to rebuild after the Ebola epidemic, it may be forced to diversify from a mining-heavy economic base. Falling iron ore prices…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraqi Kurds Say Keeping Their Side of Baghdad Oil Deal

Mar 9, 2015 | Isabel Coles, Reuters

Iraqi Kurdistan said Monday it is on course to keep its side of an oil export deal reached with Baghdad in December, as loadings from…


Iraq/Syria/Libya: Oil Could Lead to the Downfall of ISIS

Mar 9, 2015 | Rob Nikolewski, Watchdog

One of the key factors to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria may be as simple as disrupting oil production at facilities in northern…


China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Coast Guards Chase Chinese Vessel off Vietnam Waters

Mar 9, 2015 | Nguyen Tu and Ba Vinh, Thanh Nien News

Coast guards in central Vietnam last week chased a Chinese poacher vessel from Vietnamese waters thanks to local fishermen's tip-off. Truong Van Phuong, a fisherman from…


China/South China Sea: China Defends Island Building in South China Sea, Says Not Seeking New World Order

Mar 8, 2015 | Michael Martina, Reuters

China's foreign minister on Sunday defended his government's controversial policy of reclamation on disputed isles in the South China Sea which has sparked regional concern,…


Myanmar: Many Buried in Jade Mine Landslide

Mar 8, 2015 | Eleven

Many raw jade miners are feared dead after a 1,000-foot-high heap of soil collapsed in Hpakant, Kachin State. “I ran as soon as I heard…


Syria: Air Strike on Islamic State-Run Refinery in Syria Kills 30-Monitor

Mar 8, 2015 | Reuters

A U.S.-led coalition air strike in Syria hit an oil refinery run by the Islamic State militant group near the border with Turkey on Sunday,…


Iraq/Kurdistan: ISIS Blows up Mekhmour Oil Fields to Thwart Airstrikes

Mar 7, 2015 | Rudaw

Fighters with the Islamic State have responded to a wave of crippling coalition airstrikes targeting the Mekhmour front by exploding
two oil fields in the…


Iraq/Syria: UN Condemns 'Destruction' of Ancient Iraq City of Hatra

Mar 7, 2015 | I24News

The United Nations cultural body on Saturday condemned what it said was the destruction of the ancient city of Hatra in Iraq by the Islamic…


Water Wars: Why Water Shortages Are the Greatest Threat to Global Security

Mar 6, 2015 | Zeeshan Aleem, Policy Mic

If you were to ask the average American to list what the cause of the next global conflict would be, they'd likely list the threats…


Myanmar: Banking on the Farm Vote

Mar 6, 2015 | Thurein Htway, Nikkei

The Myanmar Farmer Development Party is proposing to set up a bank that will provide financial support to farmers to improve their productivity -- and…


Palestine: Gaza's Farmers on Front Lines of Perpetual War

Mar 6, 2015 | Dylan Collins, Al Jazeera

Palestinian farmers in the Gaza Strip are struggling to recover from the 51-day war between Israel and Palestinian armed groups that ended with a ceasefire…


Myanmar: Farmers Launch Boycott of MPs Who ‘Didn’t Stand Up for Us’

Mar 5, 2015 | Myanmar Times

A meeting of about 700 farmers at Mandalay’s Bayda Institute on February 28 released a seven-point statement demanding that the government stop “destroying farmers’ lives”…


Iraq/Kurdistan: ISIL Torches Oil Field Near Tikrit as Militia Advance

Mar 5, 2015 | Saif Hameed and Dominic Evans, Reuters

Islamic State militants have set fire to oil wells northeast of the city of Tikrit to obstruct an assault by Shi'ite militiamen and Iraqi soldiers…


Conflict Minerals: FTA Issues Statement on Conflict Minerals to Highlight Drawbacks on Draft Regulation

Mar 5, 2015 | Foreign Trade Association

The Foreign Trade Association (FTA) has published a statement on conflict minerals to highlight certain drawbacks associated with a draft regulation discussed by the European…


South Sudan: South Sudanese Minister Signs Mining Order

Mar 5, 2015 | Sudan Tribune

South Sudan’s petroleum and mining minister on Thursday signed an order meant to regulate the extraction of minerals in the world’s youngest nation.

The order, Stephen…


Liberia: Catholic Priest Wants Lawmakers to Account for Oil Money

Mar 5, 2015 | Antoinette Sendolo, The Inquirer

The Director of the Catholic Media Center (CAMCAM), Father Ambrose Dayouga Kroma, has urged the National Legislature to provide what he termed as detailed account…


South Sudan: Abandoned Oilfield a Toxic Wasteland in South Sudan

Mar 4, 2015 | Al Jazeera

The Thar Jath oilfield in South Sudan's war-torn Unity state has been abandoned.

The unmaintained facility, which lies inside rebel-held territory, is slowly rotting and leaking…


Libya: ISIS Fighters Take Over Major Libyan Oilfields

Mar 4, 2015 | Jared Malsin, Time

Fighters of the Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) took over at least two oilfields in Libya and attacked another on Tuesday, according…


South Sudan: Enough Project Calls for Targeted US Sanctions on Sudan Gold Exports

Mar 4, 2015 | Sudan Tribune

The United States should move swiftly to impose sanctions on gold produced in Sudan’s conflict zones, a think-tank group said.

“After studying this regime for 25…


South Sudan: Looted and Leaking, South Sudan's Oil Wells Pose Health Risk

Mar 3, 2015 | The Guardian

Thick black puddles and a looted, leaking ruin are all that remain of the Thar Jath oil treatment facility, once a crucial part of South…


Environmental Protests: Mapping the Global Battle to Protect Our Planet

Mar 3, 2015 | The Guardian

In 2012 protests erupted in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina over the demolition of a much beloved local park to build a business complex. A…


Liberia: Liberia Extractive Media Watch Formed

Mar 3, 2015 | SPY Ghana

The Liberia Extractive Media Watch has been formed. The Extractive Media Watch (EMW) has been officially registered as a not-for-profit organization under the laws of Liberia.The…


Liberia: NOCAL Responds To Global Witness Allegations on Oil Bid

Mar 3, 2015 | Front Page Africa

The attention of the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) has been drawn to misleading allegations made by Global Witness and carried by FrontPageAfrica newspaper…


Iraq/Kuridstan: Turkey Eyes Oil in Northern Iraq

Mar 2, 2015 | Daniel J. Graeber, United Press International

Agreements with Iraqi administrations open the door for Turkish oil exploration in the Kurdish north, the Turkish energy minister said Monday.

"We have agreements with Baghdad…


Syria: Scientists Implicate Climate Change as Potential Cause of the Syrian Civil War

Mar 2, 2015 | Nathan Collins, Pacific Standard, Business Insider

There's been growing chatter over the years suggesting that global climate change can spark wars, particularly in developing countries where drought conditions could lead to…


Sudan/South Sudan: Two Sudans’ Oil Ministers Meeting in Juba

Mar 2, 2015 | Radio Tamazuj

South Sudan’s Oil Minister Stephen Dhieu Dau has met with his Sudanese Counterpart Makkawi Mohamed Awed in Juba today to discuss outstanding issues relating to…


Sudan/South Sudan: New Attack in Disputed Region Claimed by Sudan, South Sudan

Mar 2, 2015 | Edith M. Lederer, Associated Press

The United Nations reported another deadly attack Monday in the oil-rich region of Abyei that's claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan.

It was the fourth…