Energy and the 2016 Presidential Election

In less than a week, the most controversial and acrimonious presidential election in living memory will be over. Energy has largely been a second-tier issue in this contest, although the divergence in the candidates’ views on this vital subject is stark. Fortunately, the energy consequences–planned and unintended–of the last two US presidential elections hold some […]

Saudi-Iranian Fallout Could Destroy The OPEC Deal

While OPEC is officially communicating that it is ‘deeply optimistic’ that it could reach a deal to stabilize oil prices, and simultaneously scolding industry observers for being too quick to judge and express skepticism, behind closed doors, two of OPEC’s heavyweights and bitter regional rivals – Saudi Arabia and Iran – are reverting to their […]

Oil Price and US Politics: Peak Uncertainty

The political outlook – from the US elections and Brexit to the Middle East – has not looked more uncertain than it does now for at least a decade or two, the economic and political researcher Andrei Belyi told NGW in an interview. “The challenges in the developed world explain the instability in the dollar exchange […]

A deeper look at oil prices after a US presidential election

Election day in the United States is tomorrow, and we’re taking a closer look at how oil prices change right after a new American president is chosen. On Friday, we shared some patterns that emerged when we plotted a series of graphs showing the benchmark spot price of oil (dated Brent) for the 1992-2012 presidential […]

Egypt just massively devalued its currency — here’s what happens next

Egypt’s central bank floated the pound on Thursday in an attempt to stabilize its economy, which has been hampered by a shortage of dollars. The currency was initially devalued by 32.3% to about 13 pounds per dollar, down from the previous peg of 8.8 per dollar, which had been in place since March. It has since […]

#NoDAPL: War on Water

As the Dakota Access Pipeline reaches the Missouri river Warriors and Water Protectors built a bridge so that they can block construction on the other side of the river. Cops attacked the people with rubber bullets and pepper spray but warriors bravely fought back and lived to fight another day. Support the West Coast Women […]

Leaked Pentagon Video Shows 5 Groups That Could Disrupt Future Cities

Recently, The Intercept published an internal Pentagon video it obtained via the Freedom of Information Act. The short film — entitled “Megacities: Urban Future, the Emerging Complexity” — was used to educate elite United States soldiers on the world’s urbanized, dystopian, overpopulated future and all the military challenges that will come along with that future. […]

Venezuelans told to grow own food

Some Venezuelan city dwellers are trying to grow their own produce to offset the country’s severe shortages following socialist President Nicolás Maduro’s calls for “food sovereignty.” But in a country where families are going hungry as a result of government mismanagement and sky-high inflation, many view the “Great Agro-Venezuela Mission” with skepticism. “Agriculture shouldn’t be a […]

ISIL retaliates against locals by torching oil wells

Ayad leans against the black wall of a partially destroyed home, gripping an AK-47 in his hands. He takes a deep breath and sprints across the road, between puddles of spilled oil, towards another house that he imagines is full of fighters. Ayad is followed by five fellow soldiers. Ahead of them, tongues of fire […]

Kunstler: Halloween Nation

What was with James Comey’s Friday letter to congress? It looks to me like the FBI Director had to go nuclear against his parent agency, the Department of Justice, and Attorney General Loretta Lynch, his boss, in particular. Why? Because the Attorney General refused to pursue the Clinton email case when more evidence turned up […]

Obama May Be The Most Pro-Oil President In US History

Despite nearly eight years of anti-oil rhetoric, President Barack Obama may be the most pro-oil president in U.S. history. Chief among the reasons supporting this claim are that, under Obama’s tenure in office: the 40-year oil export ban was lifted, shale production increased dramatically (up 400 percent since 2008) and oil and natural gas production are […]

Could Venezuela Become The Next Syria?

Speaking of poor policymaking, hyperinflation and violence – Venezuela is sliding closer and closer to the brink of collapse, with some sobering consequences. This was among the topics of conversation this week at the Mining & Investment Latin America Summit in Lima, Peru. While there, I had dinner with a couple of Canadian lawyers who […]

Venezuela is a full-blown dictatorship

All this year, as they trudged through an unprecedented economic implosion, Venezuelans have been gearing up for what was meant to be the defining political event of the year: a referendum on whether to recall our increasingly loathed authoritarian president, Nicolás Maduro. The tense buildup suddenly ended Thursday as five separate (and supposedly independent, but c’mon […]

Would the US ever attend an OPEC meeting?

The recent invitation by OPEC for US officials to join in production freeze talks is clearly a nod to the production powerhouse Americas has become as a result of the shale revolution. But it wasn’t always that way. Just ask former US Energy Secretary Bill Richardson, who, 16 years ago, was the point person in […]

Trump and Clinton on energy

Energy independence has been a goal of every president since Richard Nixon, but it remains elusive. Still, an ongoing drilling boom has lowered dependence on imports of fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas. In 2015, the U.S. relied on net imports for about 24 percent of petroleum use, the lowest level since 1970. […]

Is ISIS Giving Up On Oil?

Since the Iraqi army drove out Islamic State forces from the oil-rich towns of Shargat and Qayyarah last month, ISIS has lost its ability to produce oil and profit from crude oil sales on the black market—but ISIS is proving to be highly adaptable, and able to find new markets quickly; this time in agriculture. […]

Kunstler: Slouching Towards Election Day

It’s getting hard to give a shit about this election, though you might still care about this country. The damage has been done to the two long-reigning political parties and perhaps that’s a good thing. They deserved to be dragged into the gutter and now they can either go through a severe rehab or be […]

Fighting Rages on Yemen-Saudi Border

Fighting in Yemen, with government forces and their Saudi-led allies battling Houthi rebels backed by Iran, raged from Friday into Saturday on the Saudi-Yemen border, despite a 72-hour cease-fire that ended late Saturday. Witnesses reported Saudi-led coalition airstrikes on Houthi missile launchers east of the capital, Sana’a. All parties had agreed to honor the U.N.-backed […]

Idle Workers, Inevitable Cuts: Ministers Grade the Saudi Economy

Top officials discussed subsidy, salary reductions on TV show Ministers differ on government’s use of oil-boom proceeds Saudis who switched on a popular talk show last week to listen to officials explain why state employees had their take-home pay cut were in for a shock. Within minutes of the start of MBC1’s “Al Thamena” program, […]

Shadows on the Cave Wall

Nearly everyone thinks of the United States of America as a place, a physical location, some place you can live, visit, touch and see. And nearly everyone is wrong. The United States of America is an ideology, a thought meme, a belief, a political religion, a concept and an idea. I am reminded of this […]

Navy Officer Tells Alaskans: Prepare For War

An unnamed former Navy official has warned the residents of Alaska to prepare for an invasion in the event of war between the U.S. and Russia. The Daily Star has reported that a former high-ranking Naval official has evidence to suggest Russia is preparing to invade Alaska if war breaks out between the United States […]

Militants storm oil city Kirkuk amid Mosul advance

Suspected Islamic State fighters stormed an Iranian-run power plant and police stations in the Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk on Friday in an apparent counter-attack as Iraqi forces advanced on militant-held Mosul about 100 miles to the northwest. Iraqi media said at least 11 workers were killed in the pre-dawn assault by suicide bombers armed with rifles and that a […]

Massive Saudi Arabia Bond Deal Comes to Market

Saudi Arabia is selling a huge bond deal to international investors Wednesday. The country is, “borrowing out of the oil crash,” surmises research firm CreditSights. The country needs the cash infusion to staunch large budget deficits incurred due to the decline in oil prices. It’s the first time it has sold bonds to international investors, […]

Venezuela Exports Its Crisis

Don’t bother looking for Pacaraima in your guide book. A pokey Brazilian town in the Amazon rainforest, it’s best known as the last trading post before the Venezuelan border. But thanks to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the disaster he’s made of South America’s fifth largest economy, some 30,000 Venezuelans have poured into Pacaraima since […]

Beijing-Manila Oil Deal Underway In South China Sea

The Philippines is set to enter into a deal with China to jointly explore energy resources in the South China Sea, called the West Philippine Sea in the Philippines, the Manila-based Inquirer newspaper reported on Wednesday morning, citing officials from Philippine President Duterte’s office. According to the report, Philippine officials said they were in talks […]

Beyond Protests

Watch this entire interview here – https://submedia.tv/stimulator/2016/1… Two former Black Panthers tell us #BlackLivesMatter has to move from street level protests to building community lead revolutionary organizations that challenge the authority of the state and their police

Kunstler: The Odor of Desperation

It must be obvious even to nine-year-old casual observers of the scene that the US national election is hacking itself. It doesn’t require hacking assistance from any other entity. The two major parties could not have found worse candidates for president, and the struggle between them has turned into the most sordid public spectacle in […]

Can oil bridge ties between Iran and the West?

Iran’s oil ministry announced it will accept applications from foreign oil companies roughly a week after the US Treasury Department lifted more sanctions against Tehran. Iran has once again reminded the world it is open for business. The country’s oil ministry will accept applications from foreign companies starting Monday for the exploration and production of […]

Saudi Bank Stress Builds as Kingdom’s Cash Injection Falls Short

Interbank lending rates extend advance as liquidity tightens Central bank pledge of $5.3 billion failed to ease crunch Saudi Arabia has work to do to ease pressure in the kingdom’s banking system. The interest rate banks charge one another for loans rose by the most since August on Sunday, extending a trend that’s slowing earnings […]

Pentagon Warns Of Looming Dystopian Future For “Megacities”

The year is 2030. Forget about the flying cars, robot maids, and moving sidewalks we were promised. They’re not happening. But that doesn’t mean the future is a total unknown. According to a startling Pentagon video obtained by The Intercept, the future of global cities will be an amalgam of the settings of “Escape from […]

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