News

Mindanao/Philippines: Massive Land Grabbing Reported in SouthCot Town

Oct 21, 2014 | Minda News

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Officials of Tantangan town in South Cotabato have raised alarm over the alleged massive land grabbing activities in two of its…

Liberia: Ebola Epidemic Delays Auction

Oct 21, 2014 | Africa Energy Intelligence

Liberia has pulled out all the stops to make its licensing round a success. But Monrovia is touting new blocks in a highly complicated health…

Africa: 15 African Nations That Are The Most Land-Grabbed By Foreign Interests

Oct 21, 2014 | Atlanta Black Star

Land grabbing is defined as the practice of buying or leasing large pieces of land in developing countries by domestic and international companies, governments worldwide…

South Sudan/Sudan: China Reviewing Oil Relationships with Sudan, South Sudan, Researcher Says

Oct 21, 2014 | Nick Snow, Oil & Gas Journal

The Chinese government and China National Petroleum Corp. are reviewing their relationships with Sudan and South Sudan following years of growth that changed both sides,…

Uganda: Uganda Says Oil Revenue Possible Alternative to Chinese Cash for Railway

Oct 21, 2014 | Karin Strohecker, Reuters

LONDON - Uganda could rely on income from future oil exports to finance an $8 billion railway if funding talks with China fail to bear…

Myanmar: Norwegian Support for Hydropower: Peacebuilding Through Best Practice

Oct 21, 2014 | Ashley South, Democratic Voice of Burma

Last week I accompanied a group from the Norwegian embassy in Rangoon, and the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), to the Karen National…

Myanmar: Record Haul in Jade Sales to Burmese Traders

Oct 21, 2014 | Kyaw Hsu Mon, The Irrawaddy

RANGOON — Jade sales at a major gems emporium for local traders in Burma hit a record high this week, a spokesperson for the Myanma…

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…

Pates: Conflict and Hunger Increase Each Other

Oct 19, 2014 | Des Moines Register

I welcome all of you from across Iowa and the country to our beautiful city of Des Moines. The opportunity to address you is one…

China's Water Wars More Reality than Cli-Fi

Oct 19, 2014 | Sydney Morning Herald

Living in Beijing, I often felt bad about taking a shower. It was guilt because, in our house, you had to run a good five…

Oil and Gas and the Debate over ‘Quality’ Investment

Oct 19, 2014 | Mizzima

Not enough Myanmar companies are benefitting from foreign investment in the oil and gas sector, says Parami Energy group chairman and chief executive officer U…

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…

What's on Deck in Libya: An Oil Rich Nation Nearing Anarchy

Oct 17, 2014 | Site Intel Group

As the world focuses most of its attention on the Middle East, most specifically on Syria and Iraq, another nation in the region is also…

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…