International

Iraq/Kurdistan: Kurdistan Rushes to Expand Refineries

Oct 20, 2014 | Patrick Osgood, Iraq Oil Report

Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is racing to expand the capacity of its oil refineries – a critical step toward addressing weaknesses in the…

Liberia: Cheaper Electricity in Sight

Oct 20, 2014 | Liberian Observer

The Conex Crude Storage Terminal (CST) project in collaboration with the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company ("LPRC") is expected to be completed in December this year,…

Iraq/Syria: Senior MP: Purchase of Iraq's Oil from ISIL Harms Turkey's Ties with Producers

Oct 20, 2014 | FARS News Agency

"The Turkish government's purchase of Iraq's crude from the ISIL at a rate one-third of the market prices will harm its relations with the oil…

Iraq/Syria: Islamist Terror Group Earns $800 Million a Year From Oil Sales

Oct 20, 2014 | Jim Polson, Bloomberg

The Islamic State is earning about $2 million a day, or $800 million a year, selling oil on the black market, according to one estimate.

The…

Al Qaeda: Al Qaeda’s Next Target: American Oil Tankers

Oct 20, 2014 | Sarah Kaufman, Vocativ

Al Qaeda discusses strategic attacks on chokepoints of oil shipments from the Middle East to the West in its first issue of “Resurgence,” an English-language propaganda magazine…

Timor-Leste: Foreign Interests Trying to Exploit My Fragile Nation, Says Timor PM Xanana Gusmao

Oct 19, 2014 | Tom Allard, The Sydney Morning Herald

Foreign interests are trying to "dominate" East Timor, exploiting the fragility of the tiny nation to deny its rightful share of the oil and gas…

Iraq: The Smugglers Who Fuel ISIS

Oct 19, 2014 | Ma'ad Fayad, Asharq Al-Awsat

Baghdad— On the road between Kirkuk and Erbil, which cuts across the fault-line between Iraq proper and the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, convoys of tanker trucks…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Kurdistan Region Tightens Political Control of Kirkuk with Parliamentary Office

Oct 18, 2014 | Rudaw

KIRKUK, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region appears to be tightening their political control of Kirkuk after the Kurdish Parliament opened its first local office…

Kenya: Ngilu Now Accuses Cord of Land Grabbing

Oct 18, 2014 | Felix Olic and Enos Teche, The Star

Lands Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu has lashed out at Cord for linking top government officials to the Sh8 billion Karen land-grab scandal, terming the politicians…

Kenya: President Uhuru Kenyatta to Spare No One in Karen Land Saga

Oct 18, 2014 | Augustine Oduor and Cyrus Ombati, Standard Digital

NAIROBI, KENYA: President Uhuru Kenyatta on Saturday added his voice to the controversial Karen land saying anyone found responsible for fraud will not be spared.

In…

Liberia: Land Conflict Looms in Breafbasket - Lofa County

Oct 18, 2014 | Citizens of Quardu Gboni District, Front Page Africa

Monrovia – Lofa County in the north of Liberia is considered one of the counties that grows a huge quantity of food because of its…

South Sudan: Oil Leaks Cause Pollution Fears

Oct 17, 2014 | Star Africa

Oil leaks from damaged pipelines due to the protracted conflict in South Sudan have caused widespread fears of environmental pollution in the country.
George Gatloi…

Ethiopia: In Ethiopia, Foreign Investment is a Fancy Word for Stealing Land

Oct 17, 2014 | Daniel A. Medina, Quartz

It’s been called by some to be a new form of colonialism. Others say it is outright theft.Since 2000, over 37 million hectares of land, mainly in…

Cambodia: Lawyer Files Complaint at International Court Over Land Grabs

Oct 17, 2014 | Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer

WASHINGTON DC — A British lawyer has filed new documents against senior Cambodian officials at the International Criminal Court, accusing them of systematic land grabs…

Myanmar: Hunting for Myanmar's Hidden Treasure

Oct 17, 2014 | Al Jazeera

Ramree Island, Myanmar - Zaw Myint looked quizzical as he sniffed a handful of grey sludge. He had just pulled the mud up from the bottom…

Myanmar: Myanmar to Open More Oil Exploration Blocks to Investors

Oct 17, 2014 | Channel News Asia

YANGON: Myanmar is further opening its oil and gas sector to international investors. It will release another 15 oil exploration blocks by the end of…

Taiwan/South China Sea: Taiwan Considers Permanent Armed Ships For Disputed South China Sea Island

Oct 16, 2014 | Michael Gold, Reuters

Taiwan is considering stationing armed vessels permanently on a disputed South China Sea island, officials said, a move bound to renew friction in a region…

Iraq/Kurdistan: KRG Lifts Crude from Kirkuk Field to Kurdistan Refinery

Oct 16, 2014 | Patrick Osgood, Kamaran al-Najar, and Ben Lando, Iraq Oil Report

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has started lifting large volumes of crude from a Kirkuk oil field, a bold step likely to exacerbate their dispute…

The Kurds, Islamic State and the New Iraq War

Oct 16, 2014 | Reese Erlich, Austalia Broadcasting Corporation

Fauzi Ali fights back tears as she explained how she and her extended Yazidi family fled over dangerous mountain terrain and into the Kurdish region…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Kurdish Oil Exports Surge Despite Security Concerns

Oct 16, 2014 | Alexander Whitcomb, Rudaw

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region is ramping up its oil exports to Turkey despite the regional security crisis, according to Turkish officials.  

…

Liberia: ArcelorMittal Conducts Livelihood Program in Nimba

Oct 16, 2014 | AllAfrica

ArcelorMittal Liberia's Livelihood Program for affected persons from around Mt. Tokadeh footprint in Nimba County continues despite the Ebola here, with Land Access, Livelihood Restoration,…

Myanmar: 9 Jailed for Farming Confiscated Land in Mon State

Oct 16, 2014 | May Sitt Paing, The Irrawaddy

RANGOON — Nine farmers were each sentenced to seven years in prison for working on lands they say were unlawfully seized by the military in…

Myanmar: Ahead of Myanmar Trip, Obama Urged to Demand Extractives Transparency

Oct 15, 2014 | Carey L. Biron, Inter Press Service

WASHINGTON - Lawmakers here are urging President Barack Obama to put transparency in the extractives sector at the centre of an upcoming trip to Myanmar.

While…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Problems Persist for Oil Companies in Kurdish Iraq

Oct 15, 2014 | Anthony McAuley, The National

DNO, the Norwegian oil exploration company, said on Wednesday that it faces continued delays to plans to ramp up production at its Tawke oilfield in…

Iraq/Kurdistan: How A Dispute Over Tanker United Leadership Explains The Role Of Oil In The Fight Against ISIS

Oct 15, 2014 | Erin Banco, International Business Times

A ship filled with Kurdish oil that departed from Turkey recently, and stopped abruptly in the waters just south of Cyprus, may help explain a key…

Mozambique: Mozambique Heads to Polls Amid Claims of Chinese Landgrabs – In Pictures

Oct 15, 2014 | Sara Assarsson, The Guardian

Mozambique is holding elections on Wednesday, with the ruling Frelimo party, in power since independence in 1975, facing a testing time at the polls from…

Myanmar: Plaintiff Fails to Show Up at the Second Court Hearing of Land-Grabbing Case

Oct 15, 2014 | Eleven Myanmar

The commander of No 360 Field Artillery Regiment failed to show up for the second court hearing at Loikaw District Court on October 14, as…

Conflict Minerals: The Phone Co-Op Offers UK's First Ethical Smartphone

Oct 15, 2014 | The Guardian

The Fairphone, the first smartphone to be marketed as being free of “conflict minerals”, has arrived in the UK this week, after the Phone Co-op…

North Africa: Companies Abandon Ambitious Desert Solar Project

Oct 14, 2014 | Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — It sounded like a good idea: build massive solar energy plants in the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East to…

Iraq/Syria: IEA: ISIS Oil Production Reduced by Air Strikes

Oct 14, 2014 | Sam Wilkin, Reuters

U.S.-led air strikes have significantly reduced Islamic State of Syria and Iraq’s ISIS) ability to produce, smuggle and refine oil, the International Energy Agency said…