MenuMiddle East watchers have long expected the Qatari-Saudi normalization agreement, as Washington wanted its allies to reconcile, even as Doha stonewalled the attempts by Ar-Ryyyadh to accept the Thirteen Demands the coalition of four Arab states presented the gas-rich emirate in 2017. Then, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain demanded that Qatar curb diplomatic relations
Category Archives: Articles & Blogs
Does Geothermal Energy Have A Future Under The Biden Administration?
The Biden Administration – due to take office January 20th, 2021 – is expected to turn political rhetoric into political action when it comes to the nation’s resource use and energy management. Central to this will be decarbonizing the US electricity sector through renewable power sources as part of the much-touted green energy transition. Continued
Foreign Investment In Renewables And Beyond: The Last Best Hope For Central Asia’s Economic Recovery
Central Asia’s economies have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, with demand for the region’s prolific oil and gas supplies down substantially over the course of 2020. Relative to last year, global oil demand is expected to contract by 9 million barrels (about 10 percent) and crude prices remain at an anemic $48/bbl. International natural
COVID, Cheap Batteries, And EV Adoption Put Peak Oil Demand In Sight
In September, British oil conglomerate BP made a stunning prediction: the use of oil as a fuel in transport may peak in the mid-to-late 2020s. This means that we are either fast approaching peak oil demand — the zenith of oil consumption growth — or we are already there. Continued
America’s Global Retreat and the Ensuing Strategic Vacuum
Shortly after President Donald Trump ordered a U.S. retreat from Syria and Afghanistan in October 2019, events in the region drew U.S. forces right back in. The administration’s decision to target Gen. Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, triggered tit-for-tat retaliation between Washington and Tehran at the opening
Why OPEC+ may welcome the Biden administration
By most accounts, OPEC, the global oil exporting cartel and their allies led by Russia — known as OPEC Plus — should be wary of the incoming U.S. administration’s rhetoric. President-elect Biden campaigned on an historically pro-environment agenda: He intends to rejoin the UNFCCC Paris Agreement on climate change, achieve a carbon-neutral economy by 2050, and
Artificial Intelligence Will Revolutionize Energy, Earning Billions For Investors
As the world is anticipating the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, energy consumption in industry and services is likely to grow. In the longer term, the developing world will increase its energy utilization, leading to growth of global primary energy demand by of 0.4% – 0.6% per year, or a 25% increase by 2050. According
RCEP: The World’s Largest Trade Deal May Be Bad News For US Energy Exporters
On November 15th the world’s largest trade agreement was signed in a virtual meeting room, bringing an end to eight years of negotiations. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) links 15 Asia-Pacific economies, including the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), plus Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. This is
Goldman Sachs: Renewable Power Will Become The Largest Area Of Spending In The Energy Industry In 2021
With Joe Biden’s presidential election victory last week, climate change is set to be a top priority for the incoming administration, second only to the Covid-19 recovery. As discussed in my recent article, the president-elect has laid out an ambitious roadmap for decarbonizing the US economy, which includes a carbon-free power sector by 2035 and net-zero carbon
Federal Reserve Warns Of Climate Risks, In Historic First
Days after Joe Biden’s contentious presidential win, the U.S. Federal Reserve – known as one of America’s most conservative institutions – acknowledged for the first time the financial risks of climate change in its biannual financial stability report. In comments attached to the publication, Fed Governor Lael Brainard said the following: “Acute hazards, such as storms, floods,