Global resource wars: The Rosetta Stone

What is the nature of the connection between an ill-planned war in Iraq; the steadily increasing pressure on dissent in the United States; the ongoing estrangement between the United States and its traditional allies; the increasing strains with the country’s Canadian neighbor; and the forbearance shown to China as opposed to the increasing distrust of Russia?

Gazprom’s Dream Pipeline to Europe

In northern Russia, where vast deposits of natural gas lie waiting to be tapped, Gazprom, the state-owned Russian energy giant, is hatching a multibillion-dollar strategy that would lock a swath of Europe from Germany to Britain into long-term delivery contracts, in a move that would bypass Ukraine and Belarus and anchor Russia to Europe more closely over time.

Washington’s Interest in Ukraine: Democracy or Energy Geopolitics?

The results of the third round of elections in Ukraine in which Viktor Yushchenko has just been proclaimed the final winner, far from being grounds for jubilation in Ukraine and beyond, ought to give concern for the future of Ukraine to many. The story has major implications for the dollar, oil and gold.

Shell, Exxon tap expensive oil sands & gas, oil reserves dwindle.

Solid article detailing the higher costs of oil sands and industry pressures driving project investments. Includes as context many startling figures: “Shell, based in London and The Hague, reported Feb. 3 that reserves fell in 2004 because it found enough oil to replace just 15 percent to 25 percent of what the company pumped. BP replaced 89 percent of production, the company said Feb. 8”.