International


Liberia: RIA Land Deed Backfires - Land Owners Threaten to Sue GOL

Jul 30, 2014 | AllAfrica

Monrovia — Lawyers representing the legal interest of residents of the Roberts International Airport area said they would sue over President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's granting…


Iraq/Kurdistan: U.S. Judge Sides With Iraq, Blocks Kurds' Attempt To Sell Oil

Jul 30, 2014 | John Ydiste, NPR

A U.S. judge has blocked an effort by Iraq's Kurdistan region to sell $100 million worth of crude oil to refiners in the U.S. It's…


Kurdistan: Kurdish Oil Production Seen Doubling Next Year by Goldman Sachs

Jul 30, 2014 | Grant Smith and Claudia Carpenter, Bloomberg Businessweek

Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurds, sparring with the nation’s central government over their right to export crude, may almost double oil production next year and triple it…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Kurdistan Challenges Iraq's Oil Claim

Jul 30, 2014 | The Wall Street Journal

The Kurdistan Regional Government has sent a letter to a Texas court challenging Baghdad’s claim to a 1-million-barrel tanker of oil currently parked off the…


Colombia: Colombia's Paramilitary-Coal Nexus: Drummond, Glencore Face New Accusations

Jul 30, 2014 | James Bargent and Mimi Yagoub, InSightCrime

The report by Christian peace campaigners PAX, "The Dark Side of Coal," (pdf) brings together the testimonies of demobilized paramilitaries, former company employees and conflict…


DRC: Head Of DRC State Miner Fired For 'Gross Negligence'

Jul 29, 2014 | Israel Diamond Institute

The head of the Democratic Republic of Congo's state-owned mining company Gecamines has been fired from his post for "gross negligence", reports Mining Weekly. The…


China/Philippines: Philippines Seeks Pledges to Suspend Unilateral Acts in S. China Sea

Jul 29, 2014 | Global Post

Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario called Tuesday for all claimants to disputed islands and other land features in the South China Sea to agree…


China/Vietnam: Vietnam’s Communists Urged to Sue China

Jul 29, 2014 | Trung Nguyen, Voice of America

Dozens of prominent members of Vietnam's Communist Party (VCP), voicing concerns over China’s actions in the South China Sea, are calling on their leaders to…


South China Sea: Maritime Disputes Could Lead to War

Jul 28, 2014 | Amando Doronila, Philipine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines—China’s maritime disputes with countries like the Philippines and Vietnam in the South China Sea are increasingly raising anxieties among their neighbors that the…


Iraq/Syria: U.N. Warns of Sanctions for Oil Trading with Syria, Iraq Militants

Jul 28, 2014 | Michelle Nichols, Reuters

(Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council expressed grave concern on Monday over reports that radical militants have seized oilfields and pipelines in Syria and Iraq…


Kurdistan/Iraq: Iraq Warns US on Kurd Oil

Jul 28, 2014 | NBC

CNBC's Michelle Caruso-Cabrera reports Iraq's lawyers demand that oil on a Kurdish tanker near the Port of Galveston be delivered to Iraq.


China/Vietnam: Experts Call For Legal Action Against China

Jul 28, 2014 | VietnamNet

Viet Nam should prepare to take its case against China to the international court of justice, even though it has moved its Haiyang Shiyou 981…


Iraq/Syria: UN Adopts Russian Statement Condemning Terrorist Oil Sales

Jul 28, 2014 | The Moscow Times

With a statement drafted by Russia, the UN Security Council strongly condemned any sale of oil from Syria or Iraq by terrorist groups and reminded all countries that buying this illegally obtained…


Iraq/Kurdistan: BRIEF-Iraq Sues Kurdistan Ministry of Natural Resources in U.S. Over Oil Delivery

Jul 28, 2014 | Thomson Reuters Foundation

July 28 (Reuters) - Iraq files lawsuit against ministry of natural resources of the kurdistan regional governate with respect to 1.03 million barrels of crude…


South Sudan: S. Sudan Rejects Calls for Suspension of New Oil Contracts

Jul 28, 2014 | Sudan Tribune

(JUBA) – The South Sudanese government says it would not relent to recent demands for suspension of all new oil contracts, arguing that such a…


China/Vietnam: Did China Blink in the South China Sea?

Jul 27, 2014 | Alexander Vuving, The National Interest

For seventy-five days starting from May 2, China unilaterally deployed its US$1 billion oil rig HYSY-981 to drill in waters lying within Vietnam’s exclusive economic…


Iraq: Fire Breaks Out in 2 Oil Tanks in Beiji Refinery

Jul 27, 2014 | Fars News Agency

TEHRAN (FNA)- Fire broke out in two oil tanks in Beiji Refinery due to a terrorist attack."The ISIL terrorists attacked Beiji Refinery with some mortar…


Abyei/South Sudan: Abyei Chiefs to Lobby Juba to Recognize Referendum

Jul 27, 2014 | Radio Tamazuj

Chiefs and elders of the nine Ngok Dinka chiefdoms in the contested area of Abyei between Sudan and South Sudan intend to lobby the South…


Rwanda: Imena Speaks Out on Gatumba Concession, Conflict Minerals

Jul 27, 2014 | Ivan Mugisha, AllAfrica

Mining companies will soon receive long term licenses, thanks to the new mining law, Evode Imena, the Minister of State in charge of Minerals has…


Iraq: ISIS Grabs Oil and Gas Fields in Syria and Iraq, but Challenges Remain

Jul 26, 2014 | Mazin Sidahmed, The Daily Star

BEIRUT: As militants from ISIS establish themselves as the dominant force in the fight for oil and gas resources among rebel factions within Syria and…


Iran/Iraq: Gas Exports to Iraq Will Start in 2015

Jul 26, 2014 | Zawya

"After the completion of infrastructure, pipe testing and the installation of measurement systems, Iran's gas will be exported to Iraq early next (Iranian) year," Deputy…


China/Vietnam: China's Oil Rig No.981 Sets Sail Again

Jul 26, 2014 | China News

Chinese maritime authorities announced that the offshore oil drilling vessel 981 is back in operation off the coast of Hainan island.

The resumption of the operation…


Iraq: Iraqi Kurdish oil nears Texas port for likely offloading

Jul 26, 2014 | Terry Wade and Erwin Seba, Reuters

(Reuters) - A tanker carrying crude oil from Iraqi Kurdistan is hours away from the Port of Galveston in Texas, according to Reuters ship tracking…


DRC: It’s Raining Copper in the DRC’s Katanga Province

Jul 25, 2014 | Allesandro Bruno, Investor Intel

El Nino Ventures Inc. (‘ELN’, TSXV: ELN) has a copper exploration project in the Democratic Republic of Congo and two zinc-lead-silver (copper) exploration and development…


Liberia: Oil Company of Liberia Holds Secret Session With Legislature

Jul 25, 2014 | Henry Karmo, AllAfrica

Monrovia — Days after protesters stormed the Capitol Building against alleged plans by government to sell new oil blocks in Liberia, officials of the National…


China/Vietnam: Controversial Chinese Deep-Water Rig Drifts Into Calmer Seas

Jul 25, 2014 | The Wall Street Journal

A Chinese deep-water oil rig at the center of one of the tensest maritime standoffs between China and Vietnam in recent memory has finally moved…


Iraq: UN: Iraq Likely to Face Severe Food Shortage Because of Conflict

Jul 24, 2014 | Lisa Schlein, Voice of America

GENEVA — A senior U.N. official warns millions of people in Iraq are likely to face severe food shortages because of fighting in the north.…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraqi Kurdish Oil Nears US Port Despite Concern in Washington

Jul 24, 2014 | David Sheppard, Ahmed Rasheed and Timothy Gardner, Reuters

LONDON/BAGHDAD/WASHINGTON, July 24 (Reuters) - A tanker carrying crude oil from Iraqi Kurdistan is just two days away from arriving at a U.S. port, according…


Iraq: Iraq's South Oil Exports Rise to Near-Record, Avoid Northern Conflict

Jul 23, 2014 | Alex Lawler, Reuters

LONDON, July 23 (Reuters) - Iraq's oil exports from its southern terminals in July rose to a near-record rate, according to loading data and industry…


Iraq: Oil Smuggling Finances Islamic State's New Caliphate

Jul 23, 2014 | Ahmed Rasheed, Reuters

(Reuters) - Islamic State militants seized four small oilfields when they swept through north Iraq last month and are now selling crude oil and gasoline…