Day: June 3, 2021

In the previous two columns, we laid out the agreed framework of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), trying to clear perceptual fog around this vital project, and recalling its immense scope and expanse. This column discusses the on-ground progress, vis-à-vis the ‘eight core areas’ of CPEC. First, the integrated transportation system. There are five road projects and two rail projects under this core area. The roads are: a) The 118-km Thakot-Havelian (an early harvest project) almost complete and operational; b) The remaining portion of 136-km stretch of KKH between Thakot-Raikot (N-35), awaiting…

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Living the seventh year of sectoral sanctions that target its prospective oil and gas projects, Russia has grown accustomed to living under pressure. Sanctions have made it much more difficult to lend money, more difficult to secure viable partnerships and get access to state-of-the-art technologies. Going beyond the day-to-day challenges, there is one thing that has been missing from Russia’s portfolio – a breakthrough within its import substitution drive. Developing and commissioning its own liquefaction technology might have been just that, a resolute statement that Russian companies can overcome the…

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The recent $3 billion sale of Chile’s Compañía General de Electricidad to China’s State Grid Corporation brought total Chinese control of electricity transmission in Chile up to 57%. Similar PRC acquisitions and projects are currently being advanced in Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, Honduras, Peru, and Columbia, where corporations are building hydropower, wind, and solar power stations. But China’s energy push into Latin America is not limited to infrastructure. This is fast becoming a multi-pronged approach that also includes the securing of critical minerals, particularly rare earth elements (REEs). The United States, meanwhile,…

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Eni SPA E is planning to purchase oil and gas assets of BP plc BP in Algeria as part of efforts to realign their businesses to address the burdensome debt plaguing the companies amid climate pressures, per Reuters. Energy companies, which use carbon-intensive techniques for oil and gas exploration and production, are facing immense pressure from investors and activists to reduce emissions. Importantly, most companies believe that offloading carbon-intensive assets would result in actual emission cuts to meet the concerns regarding climate change. As a result, both companies are considering the transfer of their assets…

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Half a century ago, in March 1971, Bangladesh’s founders declared their independence from richer and more powerful Pakistan. The country was born amid famine and war; millions fled to India or were killed by Pakistani soldiers. To the Pakistani military’s American backers, the new country seemed destined to fail: Henry Kissinger, then Secretary of State, famously called it a “basketcase.” George Harrison and Ravi Shankar organized the first-ever super-benefit to raise money for UNICEF relief work in the struggling country. This month, Bangladesh’s Cabinet Secretary told reporters that GDP per…

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