Intelligence Review 

*Painful extraction - Regulating the DRC's minerals trade
At face value, significant progress has been made since 2010 in cleaning up the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) lucrative but conflict-prone minerals sector. First,...
27-Jan-2012
*Peninsula pipeline - Gas suppies from the Russian far east
Long regarded as a flight of fancy, the construction of a pipeline linking Russia's far east gas reserves to South Korea is beginning to gain...
28-Nov-2011
*Coal power - Charcoal trade fuels Somalia's instability
Famine, clan warfare, multiple insurgencies, piracy and environmental degradation all plague Somalia. The lucrative trade in charcoal contributes to all of these problems and, if...
04-Nov-2011
*Testing the waters - Offshore drilling threatens regional stability
When Turkey moved forward on its threat to bilaterally delineate the boundaries of its continental shelf with the internationally unrecognised Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus...
11-Oct-2011
*Pirate paradise - Piracy increases in the Gulf of Guinea
A UN press statement released on 30 August expressing the Security Council's concern at the "increase in piracy, maritime armed robbery and reports of hostage-taking...
19-Sep-2011
*Mine games - Mongolia's mineral resource strategy
Mongolia is poised to become one of the world's biggest copper and coal exporters, with estimated deposits of at least 43 million tonnes and 150...
12-Aug-2011
*Laterite thinking - New Caledonia's trade in low-grade nickel
The small islands of New Caledonia may soon attract increasing interest from investors and developers, as they are home to the world's largest deposits of...
15-Jul-2011
*Benefit trap - China's search for resource security
China's interest in securing the natural resources its economy requires to maintain high economic growth is balanced against Beijing's willingness to fully engage in the...
16-Jun-2011
*Field of dreams - The targeting of gas facilities in Balochistan
Analysis of Pakistan's myriad security challenges tends to focus on the Taliban threat emanating from the country's northwest. As a result, the challenging security environment...
13-May-2011
*Leap year - Oil prices jump in response to 'Arab spring'
The waves of popular unrest that have erupted across the Middle East and North Africa have sent oil prices leaping in recent months, with Brent...
13-Apr-2011
*Playing the fuel - Evolving threats to Yemen's energy sector
As international attention continues to focus on the deteriorating situation in Libya, Yemen is also experiencing a sharp increase in domestic unrest, exacerbating the country's...
08-Mar-2011
*Feast and famine - The effect of global food price rises
In February 2011, the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) released a worrying statistic: its global food price index had risen above its previous peak...
09-Feb-2011
*Exposed to elements - Strategic metal supply poses security threat
In late September 2010, China temporarily banned the export of rare earth elements to Japan, following the revival of a long-standing territorial dispute between the...
11-Jan-2011
*Ebb and flow: Indian-Pakistani water relations dry up
Of all the contentious issues between India and Pakistan, water might seem of lesser importance. However, concerns over the construction of a new dam in...
24-Nov-2010
*Hostages to fortune - Venezuela's oil deal with China
A series of bilateral agreements in 2010 has locked China and Venezuela into a financial relationship that could last up to 10 years. In September,...
05-Nov-2010
*In the pipeline - Militants target Russia's oil and gas network
On 21 July, a group of six armed militants detonated several explosive devices in the Baksanskaya hydropower plant in southern Russia's Kabardino-Balkaria region, killing two...
08-Oct-2010
*In the pipeline
On 21 July, a group of six armed militants detonated several explosive devices in the Baksanskaya hydropower plant in southern Russia's Kabardino-Balkaria region, killing two...
06-Oct-2010
*Target practice - PKK militants attack Turkish infrastructure
The increase in attacks by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (Partyia Karkaren Kurdistan: PKK) in Turkey marks a new phase in the group's 26-year-old insurgency, which...
07-Sep-2010
*Oil change - Uganda bonanza, a threat to stability
With large-scale oil production set to start in the fourth quarter of 2011, Uganda is opening a major new chapter in its history. UK-listed hydrocarbon...
27-Jul-2010
*Battery charge - Bolivia aims to exploit demand for lithium
At first glance, Afghanistan and Bolivia do not have much in common. One is the site of the world's largest multinational military operation and the...
13-Jul-2010
*Deposit checks - Poland's developing shale gas sector
In April, the Warsaw University of Technology organised a conference to discuss the prospects for the development of shale gas in Poland and the possibility...
01-Jun-2010
*Undermining industry - Maoists target India's extractive sector
A Maoist attack on 6 April in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district was the most violent attack in more than 40 years of communist insurgency in India....
06-May-2010
*High and dry - Scarce Andean water resources in demand
The western seaboard of South America, particularly in Peru and northern Chile, is one of the most arid parts of the western hemisphere. Yet the...
13-Apr-2010
*Rocket fuel - Israel tries to protect its energy infrastructure
The location of natural resources is no respecter of national boundaries or ongoing conflict. Recent Israeli natural gas discoveries have been located much closer to...
11-Mar-2010
*Peace pipe - Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline remains in doubt
Dubbed the 'peace pipeline' for its potential to bridge the borders of formerly warring states, the IPI pipeline has been in and out of the...
11-Feb-2010
*Built on sand - Harnessing the power of the Saharan sun
Europe is facing continuing uncertainty over its future supplies of energy. Traditional sources from areas such as Norway have peaked and Russia remains an unreliable ...
14-Jan-2010
*Power ranges - Central Asia struggles to meet energy demands
Central Asia has abundant energy resources. Yet, over the past two years, the region has been beset by a series of energy shortages and related...
01-Dec-2009
*Feeding instability - Latin America tackles a hunger crisis
Guatemalan President Álvaro Colom's declaration of a state of public calamity in September was another blow for the impoverished country. Chronic food shortages mean that...
06-Nov-2009
Power lines - Energy and politics threaten to cross wires in Southeast Asia
On 16 August, pressure in the pipeline linking Myanmar's offshore Yadana and Yetagun natural gas fields with Thailand's Kanchanaburi province suddenly dropped, cutting off fuel...
06-Oct-2009
*Fourth protocol - Competition hots up between gas pipelines
For decades, Europe has imported natural gas through three key pipeline routes running from Norway, Russia and North Africa. Now the EU supports the construction...
18-Sep-2009
*Stemming the flow - Dam construction threatens river ecosystem
Thirty years ago the Mekong River, Southeast Asia's longest, flowed freely for 4,900 km from its source in Tibet to the coast of Vietnam. The...
05-Aug-2009
*Falklands frontiers - Oil exploration at the ends of the earth
Lying just 480 km off the coast of Patagonia, the windswept British Overseas Territory (BOT) of the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands remains best known for being...
06-Jul-2009
*Current affairs - Politics and Nepal's hydroelectric potential
When Nepal's government collapsed on 4 May, its various parties and politicians were left struggling for political power. However, across the rest of the country...
27-May-2009
*Provincial concerns - Indonesia faces increasing separatist strife
A recent string of arson attacks and assaults targeting government facilities, security posts and foreign companies in the eastern Indonesian province of Papua has led...
13-May-2009
Upping the ante - Assessing the plausibility of a gas cartel
The gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine at the start of 2009 has reignited concerns about energy security in the EU. Chief among these concerns...
27-Mar-2009