The River Tigris faces a number of real dangers, most of them associated with completed projects or ones underway in neighboring states. The most important are: The Ilisu Dam in Turkey (under construction). The diversion of river tributaries originating in Iran (either underway or perhaps in most cases completed). The huge pumping station in Syria that aims to pump
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In response to what has been discussed on the network forum regarding the reasons for the fall in oil price, it is worth mentioning some important determinants of the price of this commodity. Firstly, the majority of oil trading takes place through the use of Futures or Forward contracts. The price of these contracts are set or influenced by a number of factors such as interes
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Dip in prices throws up as many imponderables for shale oil producers as well. When oil prices collapsed in 1986 from $28 (Dh103) a barrel (for the Opec reference crude Arab Light) to less than $10 a barrel in just a few months, we were told the battle for market share with non-Opec producers was joined. I was just starting my new job at the Opec Secretariat and one of the apo
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Washington is relying on local forces to carry out ground operations following airstrikes against ISIS, but disunity within the Kurdish ranks may hamper their ability to defeat the insurgents. Iraqi Kurdistan is gaining in importance by the day as a launchpad for military operations against the "Islamic State." The US military and CIA are expanding their pre-existing facilitie
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As oil prices have tumbled, one question has reverberated around the market: what is Saudi Arabia up to? Little restraint has been shown by some energy market watchers in their commentary on the recent sell-off and the role played by Opec’s biggest producer. The 25 per cent fall in the price of Brent crude since mid-June, to almost four-year lows, they say, is the result of a
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