Geopolitics of fossil fuels

The fall in oil prices, which began in fall 2014, had a significant influence on the strategies of the key players in the oil industry in Africa. 

The energy sector is one where the break between the Trump and Obama administrations is the most pronounced. The three officials in charge, Rick Perry at the Department of Energy (DoE), Scott Pruitt at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Ryan Zinke at the head of the Department of...

The signing in January 2009 of the gas supply and transit contracts between Gazprom and Naftogaz marked a turning point in Russian-Ukrainian gas relations: yearly intergovernmental, last minute and non-transparent winter deals were replaced by a predictable, long term commercial relationship....

Following difficult years for the European gas industry, natural gas is back to the front stage. Given its environmental credentials, its flexibility, its performance and the variety of its uses, gas has a key role to play in the reduction of green house gas emissions, the improvement of air...

The geopolitical analyses of energy markets are traditionally focused on fossil fuels, and less on renewable energy sources.  

The study and comparison of different National Oil Companies (NOC) help understanding the political history of Algeria, Nigeria and Angola. The NOC’s role and activities depend on several economic and political aspects. For example, Angolan Sonangol has been the coffer for the Popular Movement...

This study addresses the resilience factors of the American production of light tight oil, in particular regarding the evolution of the financial model, and the regulatory changes with the authorisation of exports for crude oil. The paper also evaluates the development perspectives of the...

This Edito highlights how oil, since its discovery in 1859, has played a major role in the US international policy and economy throughout decades, becoming a key tool of the american leadership. 

This book was authored by the Insight_e European consortium, in which the Ifri Center for Energy was involved between 2014 and 2017. It is based on the key research projects carried out over the last three years on the Energy Union, greenhouse gas emissions reduction policies, security of gas...

Surprising coal markets: while the world coal demand is diminishing, the steam coal price doubled in 2016. After five years of uninterrupted price decline and a sluggish world demand, this strong price hike might appear as paradoxical. This paper explains the principal reasons for this...