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Advancing the U.S. Maximum Pressure Campaign On Iran

Advancing the U.S. Maximum Pressure Campaign On Iran

Washington D. C. (États-Unis) | 22 April 2019
The United States is not granting any Significant Reduction Exceptions to existing importers of Iranian oil. Maximum pressure means maximum pressure.
Secretary Pompeo announced his decision not to grant any Significant Reduction Exceptions to existing importers of Iranian oil.
As the Secretary has said, maximum pressure means maximum pressure. We are fulfilling our promise to get Iran’s oil exports to zero and deny the regime the revenue it needs to fund terrorism and violent wars (...)

The geopolitics of oil in the Trump era

by Thierry Meyssan

The geopolitics of oil in the Trump era

Damascus (Syria) | 9 April 2019
The United States have become the leading world producer of hydrocarbons. As from now, they are using their dominant position exclusively to maximise their profits, and do not hesitate to eliminate their major rivals in oil production, plunging their citizens into misery. Although in the past, access to Middle East oil was a vital necessity for their economy (Carter, Reagan, Bush Sr.), then a market over which they presided (Clinton), and then again a failing ressouce whose supply they wanted to control (Bush Jr., Obama), hydrocarbons have now become black gold (Trump). Thierry Meyssan retraces the evolution of this bloody market.

Mike Pompeo Address at CERAWeek

by Mike Pompeo

Mike Pompeo Address at CERAWeek

Houston (United States) | 12 March 2019
SECRETARY POMPEO: Thank you, Dan. Thank you all for joining me. I see you standing in the back. It’s like church, there’s empty pews in the front if you want to come up and grab a seat. I do think – is there anyone from the Petroleum Equipment Suppliers Association here? I’m pretty sure I’m the only former member to ever serve as Secretary of State, so you should put that right on the front of your web page. I think that’s legal.
Good evening, everyone, and thanks to you all for being here. I (...)

The systematic destruction of the PDVSA

The systematic destruction of the PDVSA

30 January 2019
The United States has just imposed a series of sanctions on the PDVSA, the state company tasked with exploiting and selling the hydrocarbons belonging to Venezuela. According to the US Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, “the Maduro Regime” was making use of the PDVSA to “control, manipulate and rob the people of Venezuela”. ‎
When the US Treasury Secretary talks about “manipulating the people” he is referring to the fact that the Bolivarian Republic was redistributing the profits of PDVSA (...)

Secret Clauses of Gas Agreement between Cyprus, Greece, Italy and Israel

Secret Clauses of Gas Agreement between Cyprus, Greece, Italy and Israel

30 November 2018
Cyprus, Greece, Greek, Italy and Israel have reached an agreement on the joint construction of a gas pipeline in the Mediterranean. The aim of this agreement is to open the longest and deepest pipeline in the sea. It will only have a modest capacity of 12 billion m3 per year. Its cost is estimated at 8 billion dollars and it should become operational in 5 years. However the start date of the work has not been announced.
While Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey are involved with (...)

Ceremony marking the completion of TurkStream gas pipeline’s offshore section

by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Vladimir Putin

Ceremony marking the completion of TurkStream gas pipeline's offshore section

19 November 2018
President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan (retranslated): Mr President of the Russian Federation, my friend Vladimir Putin. Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you from the bottom of my heart, with love and respect.
First of all, I would like to address the President of the Russian Federation, Mr Vladimir Putin, and thank him for his visit to the wonderful city of Istanbul, to our country. Welcome to you and your delegation.
Relations between Turkey and Russia have reached their peak. This is (...)

The Secret Market in Iranian Oil

The Secret Market in Iranian Oil

8 November 2018
On 5 November 2018, President Sheikh Hassan Rohani assured his confreres that his country was going to “proudly by pass” the US sanctions. By this date, the United States had just activated its sanctions against the Iranian banking and oil sectors.
According to US estimates, Iran represents 2% of the global oil market. The re-activation of sanctions against Iran should prevent the sale of 1.4 to 1.7 million barrels per day. The announcement of sanctions alone resulted in a reduction of (...)

Tensions In the Strait of Hormuz

Tensions In the Strait of Hormuz

9 July 2018
On 3 July 2018, the Iranian President, Sheikh Hassan Rohani hinted at the possibility of blocking the Strait of Hormuz if unilateral US sanctions are applied against Iran. He declared that either the whole world can use the strait or noone.
Then on 5 July 2018, the Commander-in-Chief of the Guardian of the Iranian Revolution, Mohammed Ali Jafari, declared that he was all set to block the Strait of Hormuz.
While US sanctions against Iran on the sale and purchase of metal, currency, debt (...)

USA set to be world’s number 2 oil producer for 2018

USA set to be world's number 2 oil producer for 2018

6 February 2018
The International Energy Agency (IEA)’s most recent report offers a panorama of the global oil market.
Demand is slowly rising.
Supply which still exceeds demand, is stable for the following reason: while there has been a collapse in production in Venezuela and a drop in the levels of extraction in the North Sea and Libya, this has been offset by an increase in production in the United States, Canada and Brazil.
The United States which has now a lot of oil from fracking, especially from (...)

Israel and Iran collaborate to exploit the Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline

Israel and Iran collaborate to exploit the Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline

9 January 2018
In 1968, when Israel and the Iranian imperial monarchy enjoyed excellent relationships, the two countries set up a joint company (the EAPC) to manage the Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline
After the toppling of the Shah and the establishment of the Islamic Republic, it appears that Israel nationalized the pipeline. In 2015, a Swiss Tribunal fixed the compensation due from Israel to Iran at 1.1. billion dollars. But this sum was never paid.
Today, the pipeline has a second pipe parallel to the first. (...)

Oil rises to above $60 per barrel

Oil rises to above $60 per barrel

1 November 2017
The price of oil has climbed back to above 60 dollars a barrel. This hike makes exploiting certain deposits profitable once again. In particular, it provides countries exporting oil (principally Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran), with additional resources.
According to expert brokers, this upward trend would probably continue over the following months. It would be attributable to about ten factors including:
the discipline that OPEC and its allies have displayed;
the fall in stocks of (...)

Construction of Turkish Stream Underway

Construction of Turkish Stream Underway

30 June 2017
On 23 June 2017, the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, inaugurated the construction works for that section of the gas pipeline, Turkish Stream, passing through deep seas.
A decision was made to go ahead with this project when President Putin visited Turkey on 1 December 2014. Construction had been interrupted in August 2015 for tariff reasons, but in the context of the war in Syria, it should allow Russian gas to be delivered to Turkey. Parting from there, it could also serve as a transit (...)

Russia and Saudi Arabia display their meeting of minds

Russia and Saudi Arabia display their meeting of minds

2 June 2017
While the Russian Federation and Saudi Arabia have been fighting each other in Syria for three years, on 31 May 2017, President Vladimir Putin and Emir Mohamed ben Salmane have demonstrated that, as far as oil is concerned, their interests are perfectly aligned.
While Russia treats political issues quite independently of economic issues, this summit is interpreted as a sign that the two states are moving closer together, following the Arab-Muslim-US summit that recently took place in (...)

The Erdoğan family secretly purchased an oil tanker in 2008

The Erdoğan family secretly purchased an oil tanker in 2008

30 May 2017
According to an enquiry made by European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) on the fiscal documents stolen in Malta, the Erdogan family secretly bought the Agdash oil tanker which is worth 29.7 million dollars.
The transaction was completed in 2007 – 2008, with the help of businessmen, Sitki Ayan and Mübariz Gurbanoğlu; the vehicle for the purchase was the company “BurMerZ” (which stands for Burak Erdoğan, Mustafa Erdoğan and Ziya Ilgen).
This acquisition is simply part of the widespread (...)

"Rosneft" will have access to resources in the Gulf of Mexico

by Juliana Gortinskaya

"Rosneft" will have access to resources in the Gulf of Mexico

Moscow (Russia) | 10 January 2017
"Rosneft" - a leading company of the world oil business - adopted a new development strategy: it wants to gain qualified intelligence through collaborative projects with the sharks of the West. The first step in this direction is an agreement with Exxon-Mobil to develop the potential oil fields off the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

Russia transfers 19.5 % of Rosneft to Glencore and to Qatar

Russia transfers 19.5 % of Rosneft to Glencore and to Qatar

8 December 2016
The Russian Federation, which holds directly 50% of the [share] capital of Rosneft, has just transferred 19.5% of it to Glencore and to Qatar.
We do not know the exact percentages of shares transferred to each of these entities.
Rosneft is the first global oil company.
This decision comes at the time when the election of Donald Trump as US president generates the forecast that economic sanctions against Moscow would be lifted and when the agreement struck within OPEC to reduce oil (...)

Bombardment by the Coalition of Syrian oil infrastructure

by Bashar Ja’afari

Bombardment by the Coalition of Syrian oil infrastructure

New York (USA) | 12 October 2016
On instructions from my Government, I write further to my previous letters informing you of acts of aggression carried out by the so-called international coalition led by the United States of America against the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, its oil and gas facilities and its economic infrastructure. I wish to inform you that the coalition has once again deliberately attacked the service infrastructure by bombarding the following facilities:
• The Tanak oil field and its (...)

The drop in oil prices upsets the geopolitical chessboard

by Thierry Meyssan

The drop in oil prices upsets the geopolitical chessboard

Damascus (Syria) | 13 June 2016
The drop in oil prices has given the lie to the «Hubbert peak» theory. There will probably not be a penury of energy in the coming century. The price decrease is also probably the first step in dismantling the «human origin of global warming» theory. It has deprived the alternative sources of energy of any validity, as well as investments in hydrocarbons from shale and deep-water drilling. It has thoroughly shaken the geopolitical scene, and is likely to be responsible for calling the US military back from the Near East and forcing the Pentagon to definitively abandon the theory of «constructive chaos».

Plunging oil prices hammers the United States

Plunging oil prices hammers the United States

9 June 2016
In June 2014 the price of a barrel of oil was 110 dollars; now it has plummeted to just 20 dollars.
This decline is firstly due to speculative capital shifting to other products, and secondly, due the desire on the part of the Saudis to wreck investments in alternative energy sources and to scupper attempts to cut consumption. There is no doubt that this was encouraged by Washington in the context of its economic war against Russia.
However two years later, the effects of this (...)

The petroyuan is the big bet of Russia and China

by Ariel Noyola Rodríguez

The petroyuan is the big bet of Russia and China

Mexico City (Mexico) | 20 May 2016
After the economic sanctions that the United States and the European Union imposed against Russia, Moscow and Beijing put together an imposing energetic team that has radically transformed the world oil market. In addition to increasing their interchange of hydrocarbons exponentially, both oriental powers have decided to put an end to the domination of the dollar in fixing the prices of the black gold. The petroyuan is the instrument of payment of strategic character that promises to facilitate the transition to a multipolar monetary system, a system that takes various currencies into account and reflects the correlation of forces in the current world order.

“The Art of War”

The Hounds of Libya

by Manlio Dinucci

The Hounds of Libya

Rome (Italy) | 5 April 2016
“Libya must return to being a stable and solid country”. So tweets Prime Minister Renzi from Washington, assuring “Prime Minister Sarraj, finally at Tripoli” that he will do all he can.
Those that share Renzi’s thinking in Washington, Paris, London and Rome are the very people that have used war to destabilise and shatter the Libyan state and are now going to collect the fragments through the “international aid mission to Libya”.
This idea of theirs is filtered down through authoritative (...)

Illegal trading in hydrocarbons by ISIL

Illegal trading in hydrocarbons by ISIL

Moscow (Russia) | 29 January 2016
Most hydrocarbons extracted from ISIL-controlled areas are channelled through Turkey. Oil and oil products are mainly imported to Turkish territory by fuel tankers via the border checkpoints of Karkamış (570 km south-east of Ankara, Gaziantep province), Akçakale (640 km south-east of Ankara, Şanlıurfa province), Cilvegözü (530 km south-east of Ankara, Hatay province) and Öncüpınar (520 km south-east of Ankara, Kilis province). Every day, 100 to 150 fuel trucks pass through these checkpoints. (...)

Cyprus - Israel - Greece Trilateral Summit Declaration

Cyprus - Israel - Greece Trilateral Summit Declaration

28 January 2016
We, Nikos Anastasiades, President of the Republic of Cyprus, Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of the State of Israel, and Alexis Tsipras, Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic, having met in Nicosia today, 28th January 2016, have agreed to strengthen the cooperation between our three countries in order to promote a trilateral partnership in different fields of common interest and to work together towards promoting peace, stability, security and prosperity in the Mediterranean and the (...)

Goldman Sachs makes oil prices drop

by Mikhail Leontyev

Goldman Sachs makes oil prices drop

Moscow (Russia) | 19 January 2016
"We must prepare for the worst scenario but it would be nice to be proven wrong" - is the leitmotif of virtually all major news-makers. And it is becoming obvious that the oil cartel OPEC, that, incidentally, has been created to protect the oil producers themselves, found itself in a very difficult position because of all that.
Possibly, the cartel members realized that it is much better to keep oil prices high and by doing so to help the competitors with the shale mining (fracking), or to produce at a low price, than not to produce at all. Mikhail Leontieff has been keeping a close look at the markets and his attention was drawn to the fact that the most pessimistic forecasts are being voiced by the most active players.

Paris Climate Accord

Paris Climate Accord

Paris (France) | 12 December 2015
The Parties to this Agreement,
Being Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, hereinafter referred to as "the Convention",
Pursuant to the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action established by decision 1/CP.17 of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention at its seventeenth session,
In pursuit of the objective of the Convention, and being guided by its principles, including the principle of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and (...)

Press conference by the Russian assistant Minister for Defence

Russia shows proof of petrol trafficking by Daesh via Turkey

by Valentin Vasilescu

Russia shows proof of petrol trafficking by Daesh via Turkey

Bucharest (Romania) | 3 December 2015
In response to the provocations of the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, according to whom accusations should not be made lightly, the Russian government organised a Press conference by their assistant Minister for Defence. He presented proof that we have been publishing in our columns for more than a year – that Turkey, as a state, is responsible for the export of petrol stolen by Daesh in Iraq and Syria, thus offering between one and two billion dollars of annual revenue to the terrorist organisation. This traffic continues in violation of the pertinent resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.

“The Art of War”

Missiles against the gas pipeline

by Manlio Dinucci

Missiles against the gas pipeline

Rome (Italy) | 1 December 2015
The resumption of gas negotiations between Moscow and Ankara: Thierry Meyssan proposes interpreting this as the Turkish response to Vladimir Putin denouncing Ankara’s support to Daesh during the G20 whereas Manlio Dinucci sees it as a serious decision challenging Washington. He therefore proposes interpreting Turkey’s destruction of the Russian Sukhoi warplane as the US sabotaging Turkish-Russian relations. In contrast, Thierry Meyssan sees this operation as Ankara trying to drive Russia out of the area where it is trying to create a pseudo-Kurdistan. Both hypotheses must be taken into account.

The Turkish Stream project is suspended

The Turkish Stream project is suspended

5 August 2015
The gas pipe-line project Turkish Stream, proposed on the 1st December 2014 by President Vladimir Putin and accepted by his Turkish opposite number, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has been suspended indefinitely.
Turkish sources indicate that the suspension may be the result of a disagreement about the amount of the tariff reductions awarded by Russia.
We recently announced that during a phone call on the 22nd July 2015, President Barack Obama had demanded that his Turkish opposite number (...)

Gas Supplies from Russia: Prospects for Balkan Route

by Dmitry Babich

Gas Supplies from Russia: Prospects for Balkan Route

Moscow (Russia) | 17 June 2015
The Russian gas supplies to the Balkans are a burning issue to influence the development of Russia’s relationship with the states of the region and the European Union. The plans to build new routes provoke plots of complicated political intrigue and maneuvering.
By the end of 2014 Russian Gasprom said it would cut off gas supplies to Ukraine in a few years. With the South Stream pipeline project cancelled, Europe faces an increasing risk of new gas supply crisis. Slovakia is hardest (...)

Failure of the US coup d’État in Macedonia

by Thierry Meyssan

Failure of the US coup d'État in Macedonia

Damascus (Syria) | 23 May 2015
Macedonia has just neutralised an armed group whose sponsors had been under surveillance for at least eight months. By doing so, it has prevented a new attempt at a coup d’État, planned by Washington for the 17th of May. The aim was to spread the chaos already infecting Ukraine into Macedonia in order to stall the passage of a Russian gas pipeline to the European Union.

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