Iran may be able to repair much of its war-damaged energy infrastructure without new Western technology. Whether it can rebuild a modern, reliable energy industry is another question. Successive rounds of US and Israeli strikes have damaged oil storage facilities, gas-processing plants and petrochemical infrastructure. Iranian engineers, supported by suppliers …
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Interview with Dr.Umud Shokri: Can Kazakhstan Reduce Its Dependence on Russian Oil Export Routes?
Kazakhstan sent more than four-fifths of its oil exports in 2025 through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which crosses Russia to the Black Sea. Repeated disruptions have exposed the risks of relying so heavily on a single route. While alternative shipments across the Caspian Sea are growing, volumes remain small. …
Read More »Why Qatar is buying American LNG while expanding its own exports
Qatar is buying American liquefied natural gas while spending billions to expand its own export capacity. That apparent contradiction offers a way to understand Doha’s diplomacy during the Persian Gulf crisis. Buying gas abroad gives QatarEnergy something to sell when tankers cannot leave Ras Laffan. It does far less for …
Read More »A Cable across Contested Waters: The Great Sea Interconnector’s Promise and Risks
A seabed survey is usually an engineering step. For the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI), it has become a test of how far Greece, Cyprus and Türkiye can manage their maritime dispute without letting it derail a major infrastructure project. In mid-October 2026, the GSI developer applied to resume surveys for …
Read More »Iran’s evasion network survives, but the crude feeding it has run dry
Iran still has the knowhow, middlemen and shadow-fleet infrastructure it spent years developing to sell sanctioned oil to China. But it has now run out of oil outside Iran to put through that system. The US naval blockade has exposed a limitation in Tehran’s sanctions-evasion machinery: ship-to-ship transfers, false paperwork …
Read More »Overland lifelines under pressure: Iran’s trade with its neighbours
Iran is turning to its land borders for ways to keep trade moving as the U.S. naval blockade constrains shipping. But these routes are best seen as a buffer, not a substitute for maritime trade. They can help move selected goods, give merchants more options, and support businesses in border …
Read More »What can Iran’s new oil chief change under the US blockade?
Iran’s oil minister Mohsen Paknejad resigned Sunday, leaving acting minister Hamid Bovard with crude exports choked by a US blockade and scrutiny of intermediaries used to sell sanctioned oil, raising questions over what he can change. President Masoud Pezeshkian accepted Paknejad’s resignation on October 4 and appointed Bovard, chief executive …
Read More »Can the Caspian give Iran a way around Hormuz?
With war disrupting Iran’s southern trade routes, Tehran is looking north to the Caspian for alternatives. But the available evidence suggests they cannot replace its crucial oil exports. More cargo moving across the Caspian could help Iran keep supplies coming in. But rising freight totals do not show whether Tehran …
Read More »Beyond shared identity: Military cooperation across the Turkic states
Military cooperation among Azerbaijan, Türkiye, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan is growing, but it does not yet amount to a unified four-country alliance. The ties are taking shape through different channels: a formal alliance between Azerbaijan and Türkiye, a separate allied-relations treaty between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, and broader exercises that bring Central …
Read More »Saudi East-West pipeline restarts, but flows remain restricted to 40% of pre-Houthi attack levels
Current throughput at 2.2 million barrels a day is well below the 5.5 million flowing daily before the Houthi attack, full recovery may take at least six weeks.New Delhi: Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline has resumed operations after an 11-day shutdown following Houthi drone attacks, but crude flows have recovered …
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