On thin ice: the danger posed by thawing permafrost and how businesses need to prepare February 11, 2021 Rapidly thawing Arctic permafrost is a prime example of how climate change is impacting natural ecosystems and, in turn, business operations. Permafrost is the name for ground that remains frozen for more than two years. It has existed in this region for millennia. Temperatures in Russia have increased by around two and a half times [...]
On board the first post-Covid BA flight to the US November 15, 2021 What is the collective noun for a group of journalists? Google suggests “pack”, “herd”, “scoop”, and “crowd”. But the word that sprung to my mind while on the BA 001 flight to JFK, fourth glass of champagne in hand, was frenzy. A palpable excitement swelled inside our cabin as the Airbus A350 took to the [...]
Oligarch’s son embroiled in divorce case lost $50m in ‘risky’ trades December 8, 2020 The son of a Russian oligarch at the centre of a huge divorce case said he did not conceal assets and instead lost the money while trading at university. London oil trader Temur Akhmedov said $50m in funds from his father, Farkhad, did not disappear because he was hiding the assets from his mother Tatiana. [...]
Rosneft’s quarterly profits rise to $4bn as Russian state energy giant hikes output May 31, 2023 The first-quarter profit of Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft rose by 45.5 per cent from the previous three months to $4bn.
The oil war risks becoming a three-way suicide pact May 4, 2020 I have long been a devotee of the films of the great Sergio Leone, especially his Spaghetti Westerns. On a laughably threadbare budget, the great director made a virtue of his technical limitations, creating nothing less than a whole new look and feel in filmmaking. The climaxes of Leone films are always a treat, perhaps [...]
Oil prices slip as investors doubt Saudi-Russia agreement April 6, 2020 Oil prices have fallen despite the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund saying Russia and Saudi Arabia are “very, very close” to a deal on supply cuts. Brent crude was down 2.5 per cent at $33.30 in a sign that investors are sceptical an agreement will be reached. US West Texas Intermediate was two per [...]
Russia remains dangerous, but don’t confuse it for a superpower July 6, 2020 It is one of those news stories where the incident perfectly fits the larger political risk profile. During the past week, the New York Times reported that a Russian military intelligence unit paid bounties to Taliban-linked militants in 2019 to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan. One imagines the reasoning for this was to decisively derail [...]
Attacks on central bank independence must be called out for what they are July 10, 2019 There lies great danger in normalising the extraordinary political events of our time. In the last 24 hours alone, reports have emerged of a plot to channel Russian oil money to a governing party in the Eurozone’s third biggest economy; a campaign group behind the UK’s leader of the opposition has disseminated an attack video [...]
Naftogaz held talks with US oil companies about energy projects in Ukraine April 22, 2023 State-owned gas company Naftogaz has held talks with Exxon Mobil, Halliburton, and Chevron about projects in Ukraine.
Plexus shares hit oil as licensee pens deal with Russian energy giant Gazprom March 4, 2019 Plexus Holdings soared today as the small oil and gas service provider said a licensee had signed a deal with energy giant Gazprom. The contract becomes the first major deal for its Russian licensing partner LLC Gusar, which has will supply so-called pos-grip equipment to Gazprom. Read more: Gulf Marine drops 75 per cent on profit warnings Shares [...]