Worldcrunch
In Argentina, gas and oil are more than fuels — they’re sacred words, woven into the nation’s identity. But this devotion is not just economic, it’s linguistic: The way Argentinians talk about hydrocarbons builds a cultural fortress, which makes any shift toward cleaner energy all the more difficult.
Despite heavy international sanctions from the West, Russia has taken a lighter economic hit than expected. Rather than suffering from war, it’s become dependent on it — like Germany in the 1930s.
A shocking act of police brutality, a legendary opera premiere, and the launch of a media giant.
A region torn by centuries of conflict, caught in the relentless grip of global power struggles. The Middle East’s wars are no longer just battles for territory, but for control over narratives, lives, and destinies. And it’s all playing out on your phone.
In the Middle East and North Africa, divisions are as stark as they can be. War-torn nations stand side-by-side with wealthy oil-rich countries where the elites feel disconnected from the rest of the region. But, as Yemeni freelance journalist and a human rights defender Afrah Nasser, warns, these inequalities breed monsters, and wealth will not prevent oil-rich countries from experiencing chaos and destruction.
Oil development in Uganda and Tanzania, driven by the French multinational TotalEnergies, is met with opposition from local communities and social and environmental activists. The projects are surrounded by allegations of threats and human rights abuses.
Updated March 24, 2024 at 12:20 p.m. The oil tanker, Exxon Valdez, ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on this day in 1989, causing a massive oil spill. The captain, Joseph Hazelwood, had left the bridge, leaving an inexperienced third mate in charge, who then failed to properly maneuver the ship. […]
Houthi rebels are now blocking the strategic Red Sea, by striking or seizing merchant ships, while also attempting to launch rockets into Israeli territory. This has sparked a strong response from the U.S and Britain, escalating a situation that could impact global security in major ways, with competing powers ready to cash in.
Is Venezuela’s President Maduro renewing the country’s long-standing claim to a big part of neighboring Guyana to distract from his unpopularity at home, to postpone next year’s general elections, or to nab some of Guyana’s rocketing oil wealth?
Defying an ICC arrest warrant, Russian President Vladimir Putin is on a one-day foray to UAE and Saudi Arabia to display his role in shaping the geopolitical and energy landscape — and to make the world forget about the Ukraine war just a little bit more.
Africa faces a complex choice: entirely eliminate fossil fuels and risk slowing down development, or alter the energy mix and maintain a balance between the environment and the economy.
The destabilization of the Middle East could send prices soaring once more and trigger a new shock for the world economy, which has so far been resilient despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine, Israel, Azerbaijan: the three conflicts highlight energy vulnerability.
Russia has become the most sanctioned country in the world since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, but data show that the country has mobilized a fleet of off-the-books ships to continue selling oil around the world.
The search for clean energy is essential in an age of alarming climate change. Lithium extraction represents a great opportunity, but the maltreatment of communities affected by this extraction must be considered if we want to interrupt the vicious cycle of wealthy countries exploiting resource-rich countries.
The BRICS economies’ inclusion of new members like Iran may not make business sense, but it fits with the Sino-Russian strategy of drawing states of the Global South into their orbit in open confrontation with the U.S. and the rest of the West.
A new report blames the attack last September on a pro-Ukrainian outfit. It is hardly the last word on the case, but a good sign that the truth will come out in the end, which is crucial to maintain support in the West.
By shrugging aside Russia’s aggression, India has shown indifference to fears that China could follow Russia’s example.
The last sighting of Vladimir Putin was five days ago, when the Russian President appeared at the inauguration of a giant Ferris wheel in Moscow. Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage. Sign up to our free daily newsletter. Since then, as the Ukrainian army’s major counter-offensive in […]
Germany has supplies of climate-damaging resources like oil, gas, coal, lithium. But faced with an energy crisis, its government, including the Greens, has opted to outsource extraction to Latin America. The party’s betrayal of its core values has not gone unnoticed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned Europeans that Russia was preparing “a decisive energy blow” during the next few months. He also praised his troops for the advances being made with the counteroffensive launched in southern Ukraine to reclaim Russian-occupied territories. He said that two settlements in the south of the country as well as […]
Six months into the war, Ukrainian forces have launched a counteroffensive in southern Ukraine to retake Russian-controlled territory. According to an on-the-ground military source, contacted by CNN, “the operation began at night with massive shelling of Russian positions and the rear.” Ukraine has liberated four villages so far: Nova Dmytrivka, Arkhanhel’s’ke, Tomyna Balka and Pravdyne, […]
While there are Moscow backers across Europe and even in the U.S., they mostly remain on the margins. In Italy, however, support for the Kremlin runs surprisingly wide, and deep.
The Colombian president recently said that the country had exported one million barrels of carbon-neutral or offset oil. But in an unregulated carbon market, such a claim is pure greenwashing.
The price of cooking oils and fats has gone up dramatically. Indonesia has even banned exports of palm oil. Suddenly, what type of oil and how we use it to fry foods, dress salads and process products has become an ever more important question.
After reseizing Kharkiv, Ukrainian soldiers reach the border with Russia. Meanwhile, Moscow continues its assault on Donbas, and has renewed missile strikes of the port city of Odesa.
Rising tensions in wheat productions, explosion of oil prices, fear of the unknown, could the Ukraine war lead to a popular Arab uprising similar to the one in 2011?
With its vast untapped resources up for grabs, the Arctic region is where the climate crisis is now inextricably linked to a new global arms race. Now Moscow finds itself shut out in the cold after invading Ukraine.
In an attempt to shore up its failing economy, Russia is trying to blackmail the West and asking to be paid in rubles for its natural gas. However, such a move is unlikely to help Moscow in the long-term. And the important question still remains of how the EU will manage without Russian gas.
The European Commission is busy trying to get Europe to be completely independent from Russian natural gas by the end of the year. It won’t come without hardships, including for consumers and the climate. Die Welt has details on how it will happen, and what it will cost.
While the strategic issues are still being debated, the Indian government has dismissed the moral issue by concluding a cheap oil agreement with Russia. But are Indian consumers prepared to accept the true cost of discount Russian oil?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky seems ready to accept death on the battlefield — but he would be doing his people an even greater service if he fled Ukraine to establish a government-in-exile.
First, the COVID-19 crisis, and now the need to respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, are forcing countries to confront the risks of global interdependence. In its place comes a rush to establish national autonomy for crucial resources, from masks to oil and gas. But at what price?
How do you rebuild a country decimated by four decades of war and embargoes? Following the withdrawal of the U.S. military, Iraq faces many challenges, from oil revenues captured by the militias and endemic corruption to religious segregation. However, there are glimmers of hope for the country’s future.
The big Spanish electricity and oil companies sponsor numerous research chairs at top universities: Is this cynical ‘greenwashing’ or innovative collaboration for the energy transition?
As global warming melts the ice covering parts of the Arctic Ocean, new opportunities are opening up for the exploration of natural resources, including oil. But the accelerating cooperation on climate objectives could wind up saving the Arctic from both business and military interests.
The possibility of transitioning to a greener energy future varies among economies that are fossil fuel-dependent , which represent nearly one-third of the world’s population and one-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. For some, the question is purely financial; for others, political factors are slowing the shift.
The pandemic has exacerbated tensions within the petroleum cartel, eroded Saudi Arabia’s hegemony, and led to shifting internal alliances. An era may be over.
Petrobras, the state-owned Brazilian oil and gas company, may post big numbers but it has a backward strategy.
While drilling deep for water last week in his field near Ouled Rahmoune, in northeastern Algeria, a farmer was surprised to see a liquid pouring from the pipes of a very different consistency, smell, color — and worth! Oil. What makes the discovery all the more unusual is that Algeria’s most important known deposits of […]