The Company Carries Influence Since It Would Bring a U.S. Major Into a Sector That Washington Has Viewed as Off-Limits ConocoPhillips’s reported plan to sign a contract with Syria’s transitional government would be a significant step in Syria’s return to international energy markets. If finalized, this deal would make ConocoPhillips the …
Read More »Turkey’s Hejaz Railway Revival and the Limits of a Hormuz Alternative
A Revived Line Would Connect Turkish Industry to Arab Markets, Boost North-South Trade, and Complement Other Projects Turkey is working to modernize and extend the historic Hejaz Railway as it seeks to transform this neglected Ottoman-era line into a tool for infrastructure diplomacy. Built in the early 20th century to …
Read More »France’s Eastern Mediterranean energy strategy: Between commercial pragmatism and geopolitical ambition
France has emerged as a significant actor in the Eastern Mediterranean energy landscape, combining commercial interests, geopolitical ambition, and European energy security priorities. Its approach rests on three pillars: support for French corporate activity, especially through TotalEnergies; strategic alignment with Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, and Israel; and efforts to counterbalance Turkey’s growing assertiveness …
Read More »The Strategic Logic of Azerbaijan’s Absheron Phase 2
New Gas from Absheron Will Not on Its Own Transform Europe’s Energy Balance, but It Will Add Valuable Supply Diversity On June 1, 2026, during Baku Energy Week, Azerbaijan’s State Oil Company, TotalEnergies, ADNOC International, part of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, and Turkey’s state pipeline company, BOTAŞ, signed a 15-year natural …
Read More »Turkey’s Maritime Jurisdiction Bill: Energy, law, and power in the Eastern Mediterranean
Turkey’s reported plan to submit a bill to parliament asserting maritime jurisdiction over disputed areas of the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean marks a serious escalation in one of the region’s most sensitive maritime disputes. The proposed legislation would reportedly formalize Ankara’s claims in contested waters believed to contain existing or potential natural …
Read More »War, oil, and a Middle Eastern renewable energy transition
One week into the United States-Israel war on Iran in late February, missiles shifted towards each belligerent’s fossil fuel infrastructure. By March, President Donald Trump declared he wanted to “take the oil in Iran.” The war quickly devolved into a battle over energy targets and the control of oil prices Though oil …
Read More »What Does Iraq’s Force Majeure Declaration Mean for Energy Markets?
Iraq Has Not Reduced Output Due to Policy Decisions or Quotas—It Has Shut Down Production Because It Cannot Export On March 20, 2026, Iraq’s Oil Ministry declared force majeure on oilfields operated by foreign companies after disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz halted tanker traffic and blocked exports. The decision reflected a breakdown in …
Read More »Iraq’s Northern Exports Return, but Supply Risks Persist
Disputes Between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region May Limit Demand for Northern Iraqi Crude On March 17, 2026, Iraq’s federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government agreed to resume crude exports through the northern segment of the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline to Turkey’s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. By March 18, shipments had commenced, with …
Read More »Can Turkey Become a Rare Earth Element Power?
Independent Certification of Reserves and Scaled-up Processing Would Elevate Turkey’s Role in Global Supply Chains of Critical Minerals Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan frames the supposed discovery of 694 million tons of rare earth element reserves in Beylikova, Eskişehir, as a strategic opportunity to place Turkey among the top global producers of rare earth …
Read More »The Iğdır-Nakhichevan Pipeline: Development and Strategic Significance
A major change in the energy landscape of the South Caucasus has occurred with the opening of the Iğdır-Nakhichevan gas pipeline, which has strengthened strategic energy alliances and reshaped regional dependencies. This accomplishment is especially significant as Türkiye navigates a critical energy security phase, since important natural gas contracts with …
Read More »