Geopolitical Monitor - Energy Security - Geopolitical Analysis on Energy Security Issues Facing Asia, Europe, Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East

July 25, 2008 (AP) - Oil prices sank to their lowest point in weeks Friday as investors questioned whether crude has cooled enough to reflect a serious deterioration in demand. Prices at the pump eased to nearly $4 a gallon, and AAA said a gallon of gas could cost as much as 25 cents less by Labor Day.

July 21, 2008 (Moscow Times) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez looks set to put pen to paper on a number of major arms deals during an official visit to Moscow on Tuesday but is unlikely to gain Kremlin support for his trademark attacks on the United States.

July 14, 2008 (AFP) - Iran says it has discovered a new oil field containing more than one billion barrels of crude.

ABUJA July 10, 2008 (Reuters) - The main militant group in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta said on Thursday it was abandoning a ceasefire, in protest at a British offer to help tackle lawlessness in the region.

NEW YORK July 10, 2008 (Reuters) - Ever since the rise of the automobile in the 1950s, the American Dream has featured a home in the suburbs and two cars in the garage. Now the iconic white picket fence comes with a hefty price tag in the form of the cost of the gasoline needed to drive to work and to the supermarket, and the suburban idyll is under review.

WASHINGTON July 9, 2008 (Reuters) - The Bush administration is committed to a nuclear cooperation agreement with India and will push for congressional approval once India finishes work on the deal, the State Department said on Wednesday.

This past week, Iran noticeably softened its anti-West rhetoric, and European negotiators hinted that Iran may cooperate and abandon its nuclear program. Meanwhile, Israel conducted a massive military exercise simulating a mock attack on Iran, and the Bush administration has begun funnelling $500m towards Iranian insurgency groups. This seemingly contradictory events must be viewed as part of the brinksmanship game being played out by Iran and the West, and which will become ever more tense until Bush’s term expires in November.

Contrary to claims of taking a more diplomatic approach with Iran, the Bush administration has significantly expanded US covert operations against the Islamic republic courtesy of a $400 million budget approved by Congress last year, thus foreshadowing preparations for war.

July 3, 2008 (Reuters) - Oil rushed to record over $145 a barrel on Thursday ahead of the Independence Day holiday, extending a rally that has added 50 percent to prices this year.

June 30, 2008 (RIA Novosti) - The Bushehr nuclear power plant being built in Iran will be launched in October, a high-ranking Iranian nuclear official said on Sunday.