There apparently is something about building pipelines that causes otherwise rational oilmen to indulge in reveries that would give an opium addict pause.

The December 1991 collapse of the USSR was an unmitigated disaster for all 15 nations emerging from the desiccated carapace of the Soviet Union.

Now, like a plate of mercury smashed with a hammer, rivulets of the former USSR member state’s energy assets two decades later are trickling back under the control and influence of Eurasia largest energy concern, Gazprom.

The Greater Black Sea Basin (GBSB) – the region between the middle of the Adriatic
Sea in the west and the middle of the Caspian Sea in the east, between the Russian landmass in the north and the Turkish-Persian landmass in the south – is fast becoming Europe’s latest tinderbox.

BAGHDAD - What was once considered a pipe-dream could become reality: after decades of dictatorship, war and international sanctions, Iraq’s massive oil reserves are set to be tapped proper and the country once known for two overflowing rivers could be crowned oil king.