Research Library

This article argues that Sultan Sa‘id bin Taymur played a more fundamental role in developing Oman than what is commonly portrayed.

This paper lays out one potential step-by-step path toward decarbonizing Saudi Arabia, imagining a sweeping restructuring of a fossil fuel-driven society and economy.

The authors respond to a critique of their prior article, elaborating on how "a switch from fossil fuel systems to renewables involves sharp declines in risk and mining."

Reversing a more typical pattern of using existing security ties to attract investors, Guyana and Qatar have demonstrated how two small states can use foreign direct investment by oil and gas firms to bolster security ties with the U.S., writes energy fellow Jim Krane in a new article for Resources Policy.

An emerging perspective in U.S. public discourse claims that a buildout of renewable electricity would exacerbate supply risks, mining intensity, and import dependence. This ScienceDirect article from fellow Jim Krane and graduate student Robert Idel contends the opposite is true, demonstrating how transitioning to renewables hugely reduces the materials, mining and political risk involved compared to coal.

Argentina is a risky place for foreign investors. But the country’s Vaca Muerta offers a case study on how unconventional shale gas investment may be lower risk, with implications that could spur shale production outside the U.S.

The authors examine the legacy and outcomes of Japanese foreign direct investment in the Persian Gulf from the late 1950s until the early 1980s.

Jim Krane, the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow for Energy Studies, argues that Saudi Aramco’s quest to remain the “last man standing” in global oil depends not just on its substantial cost advantages. Declining social acceptance of fossil fuel combustion suggests that Aramco’s pursuit of carbon competitiveness will assume growing importance.

For petrostates like Saudi Arabia, new tactics and strategies will be needed to recapture the strategic interest of global powers, and to cope with the transition away from fossil fuels. Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, Fall 2020.

The authors evaluate Argentina’s energy sector and test the hypothesis that investments in tight oil and shale gas extraction expose investors to fewer risks than extracting conventional oil and gas. This working paper is part of a series titled “The Role of Foreign Direct Investment in Resource-Rich Regions.”