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

June 30, 2008 (AFP) - Iraq said on Monday that it had failed to sign technical support deals with global oil majors hoping to cash in on boosting the war-torn country's extensive but underexploited oilfields.

June 26, 2008 (MarketWatch) - Crude-oil futures climbed to unprecedented levels Thursday, as weakness in the U.S. dollar, influenced by the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to stand pat on interest rates, sent prices to a peak above $140 a barrel.

June 24, 2008 (Xinhua) - World oil prices will not come down and oil producers have done what they could to ensure supply, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) president said Tuesday.

NEW YORK June 23, 2008 (AFP) - Oil prices rallied Monday on fresh unrest in Nigeria and after Saudi Arabia's pledge to hike output over the weekend failed to allay concerns about tight global supply, analysts said.

June 19, 2008 (AFP) - Oil prices slumped Thursday after Saudi Arabia said it planned to boost daily output by 200,000 barrels to help cool record-breaking energy costs which are hurting consumers globally.

ABUJA June 19, 2008 (Reuters) - Militants in speedboats attacked Royal Dutch Shell's main offshore facility in Nigeria on Thursday, cutting the country's oil output by a tenth and raising fears of a new campaign against deepwater installations.

DUBAI June 17, 2008 (Reuters) - There is no evidence Syria has the skilled personnel or the fuel to operate a large-scale nuclear facility, the head of the United Nations atomic watchdog said in remarks aired on Tuesday.

June 11, 2008 (AFP) - Global protests over fuel prices intensified Wednesday as blockades by Spanish and Portuguese truckers heightened food shortages and traffic chaos, and their counterparts in Thailand and South Korea threatened to join them on strike.

June 11, 2008 (AP) - Wall Street tumbled Wednesday as oil prices rebounded, fanning concerns that inflation will further pinch consumers and lead central banks to raise interest rates. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 200 points.

DUBAI June 3, 2008 (Reuters) - Syria is not seeking nuclear weapons but wants to have access to atomic energy for peaceful purposes through a collective Arab project, President Bashar al-Assad said in remarks published on Tuesday.