Politics of Oil

Petroleum has always been used by humans, from time immemorial as a waterproofing agent in Noah’s Ark, as a weapon during the Crusades, and as an adhesive for Neanderthals. Its eventual extraction from the earth in vast quantities transformed into light, heat, and power. A Pipeline Runs Through it, looks at the social, economic, political,…

Cost of living to go up!

Pictures R Nair Chancellor Rishi Sunak is in talks with Bank of England to head off the “cost of living cataclysm” as interest rates lift to 0.5%, from 0.1 per cent in December. Higher interest rates make borrowing more expensive, higher mortgage costs, higher gas bills and harder choices during grocery shopping. Some lenders raised…

Container ship fire in high seas risking ecological disaster

Singapore registered  X-Press Pearl with tonnes of chemicals and plastics is threatening marine life off the coast of Sri Lanka. Efforts to two the sinking cargo ship into deeper water to limit its environmental impact failed according to officials. Hundreds of tonnes of oil could leak into sea with some warning it would destroy the…

Post-furlough job losses worse among young and ethnic minorities

Resolution Foundation’s latest survey of 6, 000 adults found 19 per cent of 18-24-year-olds who were furloughed during lockdown were unemployed in September. For Black, Asian, and other minority ethnic workers the figure was 22 per cent compared to 9 per cent for the general population. The Treasury said its wage support schemes had helped…

Saudi’s launch oil price war

Saudi Arabia has launched an oil price war targeting its biggest rivals to swamp the crude market with supplies at deep discounts to win new customers next month, a move that would send crude prices tumbling and expected to ripple through the US Junk bond market, where shale producers have borrowed billions of dollars recently.…

Nord Stream2 Power lines possible despite US sanctions

The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline intended to connect Moscow and Germany, opposed by the US, which has imposed a series of sanctions in an attempt to stop it, as well as by several other EU member states.        When Angela Merkel met Vladimir Putin, after the US military killed Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in a…

Saudi Aramco launches IPO to raise $60bn as Kingdom seek $2tn valuation

Saudi Aramco launched its public offering yesterday kicking off Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambition to overhaul the kingdom’s oil addicted economy. The IPO, a landmark in Prince Mohammed’s drive on his pledge to modernise the kingdom, was tipped to be the world’s largest, hoping to raise in excess of $60bn with a sale of…