From the Russian wheat deals of an earlier generation to a Trump–Putin diesel bargain, energy has become the latest instrument of high-stakes political dealmaking. Diesel has suddenly moved from the fuel pump to center stage in American and European politics. With U.S. fuel prices surging and congressional midterm elections approaching on November 3, Donald Trump […]

For years, Washington insisted that economic relations with Russia should remain restricted until Moscow changed its policies towards Ukraine. On 9 October, the White House found a reason to make an exception. Following a conversation with President Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump announced that Russia would supply more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel to American and […]

About 12% of world trade passes through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, but the strait is only part of the story: tiny Djibouti, leasing its geography to five military powers, has become an epicentre of rivalry where strategic rent may turn into catastrophe. An Oil Crossroads Turned Battleground for Influence Approximately 12% of global trade and […]

The construction of an oil refinery in the Kenyan city of Lamu is a strategic project that will enable East African countries to increase the added value of their natural resources, achieve energy self-sufficiency, and strengthen the region’s economic and political independence. The proposed East African refinery in Lamu will refine crude from Turkana, estimated […]

While Washington pursued and implemented decades-long campaigns (including sanctions, proxy wars, and direct military action) against Russia and Iran to weaken or collapse their governments, those policies have also produced adverse effects at home, the most visible being surging energy prices and inflationary pressure. How are the Wars Coming Along? By all measures, the proxy […]

Even as Americans commemorate the pain of the September 11 attacks, at the same time, the Houthis of Yemen, under coordination along the “axis of resistance,” are taking absolute control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the entire Yemeni coast of the Red Sea. On Friday, September 11, 18 hours of warfare were enough to […]

The world is discovering that Iran and the Houthis do not need to control the world’s oil fields to exercise enormous influence over the global economy; they only need to control, or constrain access to, the narrow waterways through which that oil must pass. A War That Has Reached the Energy Arteries The Strait of […]

For decades, Washington has justified its military presence in the Middle East as necessary to protect global energy security. American naval forces would safeguard shipping, military partnerships would deter attacks on oil-producing states, and sanctions would restrain governments regarded as threats to the US-led regional order. The promise was simple: American power would keep energy […]