Scott Belinksi is an international energy consultant currently based in Moscow. His interests and areas of expertise include Eastern European politics, shale gas, deep-water drilling and big oil.
After years of reticence to reengage as the situation in Libya increasingly spiralled out of control, the European powers—and particularly France and Italy—are finally wading…
As Iran is turning to the UN’s International Court of Justice to have the US-imposed sanctions against its oil suspended, the EU is preparing for…
Considering his pledges to make the United States “energy dominant,” President Donald Trump must take satisfaction in Department of Energy (DOE) projections of growing domestic…
Despite the EU’s best efforts to diversify suppliers, Russian gas exports to Europe grew by 8.1 percent to hit a record high of 193.9 billion…
When the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released a new report regarding the atmospheric concentration of CO2, it was the bearer of bad news. According to…
In the game of chicken gripping the Persian Gulf, Qatar is responding to recent overtures from its Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) neighbors by slamming its…
In the six months since becoming president of the United States, Donald Trump has markedly shifted the global conversation on the long-term viability of fossil…
While the Eastern Mediterranean is well known for its major (and underexploited) gas reserves, Lebanon is the latest country in the region to join the…
The European Commission released its long-awaited “Clean Energy For All Europeans,” otherwise known as the “Winter Package.” The package is a bundle of over four…
With sun-drenched deserts to the north and the windswept Atlantic on its western coast, South Africa has abundant clean energy reserves. Recently discovered natural gas…
Gazprom, Russia’s flagship energy company and the face of its geopolitical ambitions, is facing grim times. Although the company was able to report an almost…
When Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman first announced the Kingdom’s post-oil blueprint in April many commentators were skeptical. Saudi Arabia, they said, has been…
The Nile has been the source of life for the people of Egypt for all of recorded history. A blue stripe down the spine of…
In what can only be seen as another “symbol of sanctions defiance”, on March 27 China announced it would be providing French oil giant Total…
The world’s favorite hotbed of instability, the Caspian Sea, has finally earned the right to be called, well… a sea. This is the unexpected epiphany…
When Libya announced that it had reached a deal with a group of rebel fighters led by Ibrahim Jathran who were blockading its oil export terminals,…
At this year’s St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), held May 22-24, industry insiders seemed confident that Russia’s oil and gas sector will live through…
Europe is not the only country in the world to feel torn between enforcing sanctions against Russia’s aggressive actions in Eastern Ukraine and preserving its…
If one was to believe the picture that most Western media outlets are painting, Ukraine has been lost to Russia. Though the country fought valiantly…
Just as Russia is trying to convince Ukraine to join its Eurasian Custom's Union in the run-up to the Vilnius Eastern Partnership summit this month,…