Petroleum

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump made a mad dash to escape his hospital room at Walter Reed, browbeating his military physicians into letting him go while he was pumped full of a cocktail of potions that included euphoria- and delusion-inducing steroids. His lungs laboring with broken glass syndrome, he vaulted up the stairs to […]

Armenia

War for Oil, again? Why are Russia and Turkey intervening in the Azerbaijan-Armenia Clashes?

Nikola Mikovic

Belgrade (Special to Informed Comment) – Clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh threaten to destabilize the Caucasus. Turkey and Russia – the major foreign actors in this proxy conflict – are still not directly involved in bloodshed that erupted on September 27, although Ankara openly supports Baku by providing full […]

Arab World

The Pandemic and Oil

Conn M. Hallinan

Foreign Policy in Focus) – With oil prices down and wealthy countries bungling COVID-19, the pandemic has exposed the weaknesses that wealth papers over. During the reign of the Emperor Justinian I (527-565 AD), a mysterious plague spread out of the Nile Valley to Constantinople and finished off the Roman Empire. Appearing first in China […]

Featured

Russia defies US Sanctions, presses Syria on Long Term Trade, Investment deal for Energy

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Russia and Syria are preparing to enter into a wide-ranging trade and investment deal, according to RT Arabic. Sunday night, Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov arrived in Damascus to meet with high Syrian officials. On Monday, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov arrived, meeting with Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad and his […]

Climate Crisis

Burning Oil Strengthens Hurricanes like Laura, which sow Environmental Catastrophe when they Strike Petroleum Facilities like Lousiana’s

The Conversation

By John Pardue | – Hurricane Laura plowed through the heart of Louisiana’s oil and chemical industries as a powerful Category 4 storm, leaving a chlorine plant on fire and the potential for more hazardous damage in its wake. The burning BioLab facility sent dark smoke and chlorine gas into the air over the small […]

China

Will China’s bruited $400 Bn. investment in Iran make Beijing an Oil Gulf Power?

Middle East Monitor

By Niranjan Jose | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – The relationship between China and Iran has been in the spotlight recently. A huge, 25-year deal is reportedly being considered that would see $400 billion of Chinese investment in Iranian energy and transport infrastructure. The deal is the latest effort by Beijing to expand […]

Donald Trump

Trump admits War Crime in Syria as Damascus Slams US ‘Oil Theft’

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Last Monday, CNN reports US troops on patrol in eastern Syria were allowed to move through Syrian territory by the Syrian Arab Army, but then abruptly a small unit of Syrian troops fired on them. The US soldiers fired back, and took no casualties, but killed a Syrian soldier. There […]

China

The rise of the Middle Kingdom in the Middle East: Iran, Gulf Oil and China:

Middle East Monitor

By Arhama Siddiqa | – ( Middle East Monitor) – China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) stands as the most prominent example of the pivotal shift in Chinese foreign policy from Deng Xiaoping’s “bide and hide” philosophy to the current ambitious endeavours. The BRI is a titanic project focused on increasing connectivity by opening up […]

Featured

“Never Seen a Decline of this Magnitude” – ExxonMobil, Crashed by Covid, gets taste of looming Electric Vehicle Crisis

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Ashton Nichols at The Dallas Morning News reports that ExxonMobil lost over $1 billion in the second quarter, up from a $600 million lost in the first. Year on year, its revenues are down 33% for the first half of this year. It has been forced to close down half […]