International


Iraq: Iraq Asks 2nd Circ. For $10B Oil-For-Food Rehearing

Oct 3, 2014 | Cara Salvatore, Law360

New York -- The Republic of Iraq urged the full Second Circuit on Thursday to rehear a split decision in a $10 billion racketeering suit…


Iraq: Murkowski: Iraqi Oil Market Showed Early Signs of Instability

Oct 3, 2014 | Timothy Cama, The Hill

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) put out a report Friday saying that publicly available data on Iraqi oil markets should have helped predict the rise of…


Conflict Minerals: Disclosure Issuers Want Feedback on First Disclosures As They Prepare Next Conflict Mineral Filings

Oct 3, 2014 | Yin Wilczek, Bloomberg

After the first-ever filings for conflict minerals disclosures in June, some issuers now are asking: is anyone even paying attention?

To date, the Securities and Exchange…


West Africa: How Saving West African Forests Might Have Prevented the Ebola Epidemic

Oct 3, 2014 | JA Ginsburg, The Guardian

The world now knows in great detail how Thomas Eric Duncan, a man who just a few weeks ago showed admirable compassion for a sick,…


Iraq: Oil Giant Puts Exploration on Hold, but Kurdish Villagers Not Allowed Back on Their Land

Oct 2, 2014 | Independent Catholic News

Christian Peacemaker Teams in Iraqi Kurdistan visited its partners in villages affected by the ExxonMobil operations on 8 -12 September. The huge Exxoncamp near Hajji…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq Kurds Tripling Oil Output While Renewing Baghdad Talks

Oct 2, 2014 | Khalid Al-Ansary and Nayla Razzouk, Bloomberg

Iraq’s Kurds are boosting crude output threefold by the end of next year and plan soon to resume talks with the new central government, signaling…


South Sudan: South Sudan Devalues Its Currency by 50 Percent

Oct 2, 2014 | Prof. Dr. Wolfgang H. Thome, eTurboNews

South Sudan’s Central Bank has finally faced reality when they devalued the currency from the unsustainable rate of 2.96 SSP (South Sudan Pounds) versus one…


Myanmar: Mandalay Farmers Rally Against Land Grab, Shooting of Villagers

Oct 2, 2014 | Eleven Myanmar

About 1,000 farmers took to the streets of Singu Township, Mandalay Region, on Tuesday, to demand the return of seized farmland and protest against authorities’…


Iraq: Thailand Imports Iraqi Crude for the First Time in Two Years

Oct 2, 2014 | Platts

Thailand for the first time in over two years bought crude oil from Iraq, but the grade of the import remains unclear.

Thai customs data released…


Liberia: Ebola Outbreak Upsets Exxon Drilling Plans

Oct 2, 2014 | Matt Krantz, USA Today

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is disrupting some drilling plans for the USA's biggest oil company.

ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson said at a press conference…


Liberia: U.S.$25 K Scandal Rocks Nocal - Legislature, LACC Probing

Oct 1, 2014 | AllAfrica

A scandal involving a purported attempt to defraud the Liberian government is sending shivers in the corridors of the national legislature, linking the office of…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Protesters Halt Gazprom Neft in Halabja

Oct 1, 2014 | Mohammed Hussein and Patrick Osgood, Iraq Oil Report

Russia’s Gazprom Neft has halted operations in one of its exploration blocks because of ongoing protests by residents – the latest oil company in Iraq's…


Myanmar: 130 Firms to Exhibit at October Oil & Gas Fair

Sep 30, 2014 | Democratic Voice of Burma

One hundred and thirty firms from 22 different countries will exhibit a range of services and products at Burma’s inaugural oil and gas trade fair,…


China/South China Sea: Chinese Patriotism Fuels Cruises to Disputed Isles

Sep 30, 2014 | Peng Peng and Jack Chang, Associated Press

On a cruise more about politics than pleasure, Zhang Jing watched the gray shells of the Paracel Islands emerge from the purple, pre-dawn South China…


Vietnam/South China Sea: US and Vietnam to Discuss Curbing China’s Sea Claims

Sep 30, 2014 | David Brown, Epoch Times

When Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meet in early October, China’s aggressive behavior in the waters of…


Liberia: Gov't Reduces Petroleum Prices

Sep 30, 2014 | All Africa

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in close consultation with the management of the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company, (LPRC) has announced a reduction in the…


Iraq/Syria: Who Is Buying The Islamic State’s Illegal Oil?

Sep 30, 2014 | Chris Dalby, OILPRICE

In June 2014, computer files captured from a courier for the Islamic State shortly after the fall of Mosul revealed that the group had assets…


Philippines/South China Sea: U.S. and Philippines Hold Joint Military Exercises

Sep 29, 2014 | Floyd Whaley, New York Times

SUBIC BAY, Philippines — Joint military exercises between the United States Navy and its Philippine counterpart kicked off on Monday in Palawan, the island closest…


Iraq: Fighting Robs Iraqi Farmers of Harvest

Sep 29, 2014 | Omar al-Jaffal, Al Monitor

Approximately 60% of the residents of the Salahuddin province, 175 kilometers (109 miles) north of Baghdad, work in farming. Salahuddin was ranked the top producing…


Middle East: Middle East Wild Crops Essential for World Food Security

Sep 29, 2014 | Nadia El-Awady, Nature Middle East

Wild-growing crops in the Middle East could be key to global food security and should be protected and utilised. Two areas in Syria have the world’s…


Sri Lanka: Land Grabs Galore in Uva

Sep 28, 2014 | Nirmala Kannagara

Rampant land grabbing in Uva by the ruling party politicians was one of the key reasons why the government faced a setback at the recently…


Syria: US-Led Airstrikes Hit Militant-Held Syrian Oil Refinery Near Turkish Border

Sep 28, 2014 | Matthew Desmond, Associated Press, US News & World Report

SANLIURFA, Turkey — Airstrikes likely carried out by the U.S.-led coalition struck an oil refinery in Syria held by the Islamic State group on Sunday,…


Iraq/Syria: Isil Oil Funds Don’t Stretch as Far as You Might Think

Sep 28, 2014 | Robin Mills, The National

As repeatedly happens in Middle East conflict, oil infrastructure was a military target last week. On Wednesday, UAE and Saudi warplanes supported US forces in…


South Sudan: 'Dead Aid': Is There Any Hope Left for South Sudan's Economy?

Sep 28, 2014 | Al Bawaba

When South Sudan was born, the world's youngest country had generous Western allies and sturdy oil exports, a formula that offered a chance to build a modern economy and drag its…


Iraq: Turkey, Iraq Trade Ties to Boom, Says Energy Minister

Sep 27, 2014 | Daily Sabah

ISTANBUL — Energy Minister Taner Yıldız, speaking at an interview on Friday dismissed the allegations that Turkey is ignoring ISIS's oil trade along Turkey's borders.…


Iraq/Syria: ISIS Oil Is Going to Its Enemy, the Syrian Regime

Sep 26, 2014 | Ellen Weiss, ABC News

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Call it an unholy alliance, call it complicated, call it the Middle East – but according to several experts, it appears that…


Timor-Leste: Oil Dispute Prompts East Timor PM to Stay

Sep 26, 2014 | Matthew Pennington, Herald Sun

Veteran East Timorese leader Xanana Gusmao says he's pushing back plans to stand down as the fledgling nation's prime minister as his fledgling nation continues…


Syria: Militants Stop Pumping Oil in East Syria after Raids, Activists Say

Sep 26, 2014 | AFP

Beirut: Militants with Daesh have stopped oil extraction from fields in Deir Al Zor province in eastern Syria after US-led strikes targeted refineries, activists told…


Myanmar: MPs Urge Prompt Return of Confiscated Land

Sep 26, 2014 | Nyein Nyein and Zarni Mann, The Irrawaddy

Lawmakers in Burma’s Parliament have urged relevant government ministries to swiftly facilitate the return of unused land that had been confiscated from farmers, or to…


Russia/Ukraine: Under Pact, Russia to Give Gas to Ukraine

Sep 26, 2014 | Melissa Eddy and Alison Smale, New York Times

BERLIN —  European officials said Friday that they had brokered a deal between Russia and Ukraine aimed at ensuring gas flows to keep factories running…