Tag: natural resources

US Looks To Revive ‘Prize Courts’ For Iranian Oil Seizures

The US government is exploring an unusual legal route for dealing with Iranian oil and ships captured as part of its blockade: bringing back a wartime maritime system that has barely been used for generations, according to Bloomberg.

The Justice Department, working with the Pentagon, is preparing to use prize law, which historically allowed courts to decide whether vessels and cargo captured during armed conflict could legally become property of the United States. The mechanism was once commonplace in naval warfare but largely disappeared from American practice after the 19th century and has been dormant since World War II.

The appeal for the administration is largely practical. At present, the government generally relies on civil forfeiture to take ownership of vessels accused of sanctions violations or other offenses. Those cases can become complicated and slow, particularly when shipping companies, creditors, terrorism victims or other parties assert competing rights to the ship or its cargo. A prize proceeding could potentially narrow those disputes and allow captured oil to be sold more quickly, with the proceeds going to the US Treasury.

Bloomberg writes that Houston is being considered as a central venue for these cases. The Southern District of Texas has jurisdiction over a major port and sits alongside the country’s largest concentration of petrochemical infrastructure, giving it the capacity to receive and store substantial quantities of crude. US Attorney Aaron Reitz, whose office is working with DOJ officials in Washington, said the department is “now reviving” prize courts, describing the concept as an “ancient body of maritime law.”

The effort comes as Washington looks for additional ways to put economic pressure on Iran. US forces have already intercepted Iranian-owned or Iran-linked vessels since the blockade was imposed in April. Using prize law could turn those captures into a more direct financial tool: ships and oil deemed lawful prizes could be liquidated, potentially generating revenue while depriving Iran of valuable exports.

Supporters also see a strategic purpose beyond the money. Reviving the system would reinforce the message that the US considers the blockade a serious wartime measure rather than simply another sanctions regime. It could also make it more difficult for neutral commercial vessels to continue transporting goods that Washington believes support Iran.

But there is considerable uncertainty over how a centuries-old framework would operate under modern international law. “This really is a historical area of law that is not tested in modern times,” maritime attorney Allison Luzwick said. Courts could be asked to determine whether the current conflict provides sufficient legal grounds for invoking prize authority at all, particularly given questions surrounding congressional authorization for the hostilities.

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Trump Strikes “Biggest Oil Deal In History”: US To Take Majority Stake In Over 65BN Barrels Of Venezuela Reserves

President Trump has made it official with a late in the day Friday Truth Social Post, announcing a deal has been struck with Venezuela for a US majority stake in more than 65 billion barrels of oil reserves, after six months of administration scrambling to control the Strait of Hormuz crisis.

On Truth Social he called it the biggest oil deal in world history which comes “at no cost to” U.S. taxpayers and which more than doubles the US oil reserve.

“This Transaction will greatly strengthen the already growing relationship between Venezuela and the United States,” Trump wrote in the post. Also…

Trump said the Venezuela deal should bring down prices at the pump. The average price of a gallon of gas in the U.S. reached around $4.09 on Friday, a 27% increase year over year, according to AAA.

Over a dozen productive oil fields are said be central to deal, following US officials having long hyped Trump’s “Donroe Doctrine” and what it can do to bolster American energy independence and security. Of course, instead of ‘talks’ or ‘negotiations’… in reality this is more simply about demands be dictated to the ‘new’ post-Maduro US client state in South America.

Focus on the Strait of Hormuz is shifting to South America late in the week as the Trump administration moves to secure new long-term crude supplies in Venezuela. The U.S. is nearing an agreement that could place 17 Venezuelan oil fields under 100-year leases operated by U.S. oil companies.

According to Bloomberg, sources told the outlet that Caracas has discussed a possible exit from OPEC with U.S. officials. The sources said no final decision has been made, but the discussions come as the U.S. negotiates 100-year leases on several Venezuelan oil fields that require billions of dollars in investment.

Such an exit from OPEC would be symbolic, given that the South American country was one of the organization’s five founding members in 1960 and played a key role in establishing the expanded OPEC+ alliance with Russia in 2016.

More recently, the United Arab Emirates became another producer to announce its departure from OPEC. Venezuela is only considering withdrawal, while Iraq has expressed frustration but has yet to announce a formal exit.

A Venezuelan exit would not result in an immediate surge in crude production because of years of underinvestment, which is why the U.S. is seeking to take a large stake in the nation’s oil fields.

Venezuela currently produces about 1.16 million barrels per day, according to a Bloomberg survey, and is not subject to an active OPEC quota.

For President Trump, a U.S.-Venezuela energy alliance could prove very valuable by weakening OPEC, increasing non-Middle Eastern crude supplies, pressuring oil prices and locking down a massive reserve base in America’s backyard.

Trump Close To ‘Massive’ Deal For Seizing Stake In Venezuela’s Vast Oil Fields

Amid ongoing global oil supply disruptions due to the Iran war and Hormuz Strait crisis, and also as Ukraine’s war on Russian oil refineries and export terminals heats up, the Trump administration has been scrambling to tap new reliable and long-term energy sources.

Now, nearly eight months since the US miliary raid on Caracas which removed from power and captured socialist President Nicolás Maduro, and the Trump administration is said to be on the brink of a massive deal to gain ownership stake in the countries vast oil resources.

Axios is newly reporting Thursday of ‘negotiations’ (sure) in the works: “The historic deal would more than double U.S. oil reserves by drawing from a country that has the world’s largest proven reserves.”

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Brazil’s Rare Earths and the Coming Resource War

The West suddenly discovered that Brazil is sitting on one of the most strategic mineral reserves in the world. The Associated Press reports that Brazil has the second-largest known rare-earth reserves behind China, and foreign interests are now rushing into the country as governments desperately attempt to break China’s grip on the supply chain. More than 86% of Brazil’s rare-earth exploration applications were filed within the last three years, and over 40% have foreign financial backing. This is what happens when governments wake up decades too late to the importance of commodities.

China understood long ago that control of natural resources and their processing is a form of geopolitical power. The West abandoned mining and manufacturing, imposed endless environmental regulations, and outsourced production to Asia because politicians assumed globalization would last forever. China was happy to take the business. Today it controls roughly 90% of global rare-earth processing, and Beijing has already demonstrated that it is prepared to use that position when geopolitical tensions rise.

Rare earths are essential for electronics, automobiles, aerospace, robotics, energy technology, and modern weapons systems. Washington suddenly realizes that depending on China for materials necessary to manufacture military equipment is a national security problem. American and Australian interests are therefore pouring into Brazil, while Brazil’s only commercial rare-earth producer, Serra Verde, has been acquired by a U.S.-backed company. The West is now scrambling to recreate supply chains it voluntarily surrendered.

Brazil would be foolish not to recognize the tremendous leverage it now possesses. President Lula has made clear that he does not intend to allow foreigners simply to extract Brazil’s resources and take the valuable processing elsewhere. Brazil wants the refining, technology, and industrial development to remain inside the country. That is precisely what China did successfully. China did not become powerful simply because it possessed minerals. It built the processing capacity and then moved up the industrial chain until everyone else became dependent upon it.

This is where Brazil has an opportunity that commodity-producing nations have repeatedly squandered. Digging something out of the ground and exporting it creates revenue, but processing it and converting it into finished products creates industry. The British Empire understood that distinction. So did the United States during its rise as an industrial power. The countries that merely supplied raw materials remained dependent upon those that controlled manufacturing and finance.

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International Atomic Energy Agency Digs TONS of Nuclear Material Buried in Clandestine Site in Syria! al-Sharaa Regime Reverses Plan and REFUSES To Hand Over the Findings

A former al-Qaida terrorist is now sitting on a treasure trove of nuclear material that can be weaponized.

A United Nations team has excavated a ‘previously undisclosed site’ in Syria and found several tons of nuclear material from the days of the Bashar al-Assad rule.

The agreed plan was for the International Atomic Energy Agency to remove the material from Syria – but that’s not what’s going to happen, anymore.

Syria is now holding the nuclear material, and refuses the handover, saying ‘it will remain under IAEA safeguards for peaceful civilian use’.

The Telegraph reported:

“Rafael Grossi, the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said on Tuesday that ‘tons of nuclear materials that could be put to bad use’ had been found at the site, dating from the time of Syria’s authoritarian Assad government.

‘After your courageous decision to inform us that there was another place, another site where nuclear material had been stored, we were able to access this place’, Mr. Grossi said during a press conference with Asaad al-Shaibani, Syria’s foreign minister, in Damascus. ‘We are talking about a few tons of nuclear material that could be put to bad use’.

The IAEA had previously said it was preparing to remove the nuclear material, left over from the era of dictator Bashar al-Assad, who was overthrown by a coalition of rebels in 2024. They now form the Syrian government.

However, Mr. Shaibani said the nuclear material was not dangerous and would remain in Syrian custody, subject to IAEA guarantees, adding that Syria had the right to use it for civil and ⁠peaceful purposes.”

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China Sends Science Team to Iran for ‘Exploration and Processing’ of Rare Earths

The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) on Monday announced a collaboration with Iran on the “exploration and processing of rare earth elements,” presented as a series of workshops that will be mostly funded by China.

The NSFC said that it will provide about $4,200 in funding for each workshop, while Iran’s National Science Foundation will help with travel arrangements and accommodations for Chinese researchers visiting Iran, and vice versa.

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) noted that Beijing chose a “particularly sensitive time” to announce a new collaboration with Iran, given ongoing hostilities between the United States and Iran.

Chinese dictator Xi Jinping is scheduled to visit the United States in September to discuss trade issues with President Donald Trump, although the meeting could already be imperiled by volleys of “tit-for-tat” sanctions between the U.S. and China. Trump is unlikely to be pleased by the announcement of a new Chinese collaboration with Iran at this uneasy juncture.

The SCMP pointed out that China seems to be taking a significant diplomatic risk for a very modest collaboration in an industry that China already dominates. China has the world’s largest known rare earth reserves and is the leading producer and refiner of the metals.

Iran might have significant rare earth deposits in its central region, but it has not developed the technology to confirm those deposits exist, or exploit them. All that is certain for now is that central Iran boasts the sort of iron and phosphate formations that could harbor rare earth deposits.

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WH unveils $180M mining school initiative, led by over $80M War Dept. investment

In a push to reinforce national security and revitalize technical education, President Donald Trump and the Department of War announced over $80 million in targeted federal investments for top American mining and metallurgy institutions.

Unveiled during a Washington roundtable bringing together top mining executives and university leaders, the initiative is designed to rebuild the nation’s critical mineral supply chains, expand pilot-scale processing capabilities and train a new generation of geologists, metallurgists and mining engineers.

Distributed through the Department of War’s Office of the Under Secretary for Acquisition and Sustainment, the funds focus on establishing innovation hubs and industry-integrated academic programs.

Under the proposed funding allocations, the Colorado School of Mines is reportedly set to receive $32.7 million to launch a Critical Minerals Innovation and Commercialization Hub for material qualification and technology scaling.

Additionally, the South Dakota School of Mines will receive $25 million to helm the Critical Minerals Merit Scholars Consortium, an integrated workforce partnership alongside Missouri S&T University and the University of Kentucky.

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Senate Republicans Press New York Governor To Stop Blocking New England’s Natural Gas Supply 

Connecticut Senate Republicans are asking New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to reconsider policies that have limited natural gas pipeline expansion into New England, arguing that decisions made across the state line are contributing to higher energy costs in Connecticut. 

In a July 22 letter, seven Republican senators said Connecticut families and businesses continue to face some of the highest electricity and heating costs in the country while the region remains constrained in its access to natural gas.  

According to  U.S. Energy Information Administration data, Connecticut residential customers paid 27.37 cents per kilowatt-hour in May, nearly 49 percent above the national average.  

The rate fell sharply after a temporary public benefits credit took effect May 1, cutting residential bills by roughly 14 percent, but Eversource is now seeking a separate rate increase that could raise the average residential bill by as much as 18 percent beginning in July 2027 if state regulators approve the full request. 

“While Connecticut must continue to evaluate and improve its own energy policies, we cannot ignore the regional infrastructure constraints that contribute significantly to these costs,” the senators wrote. 

The letter was signed by Sens. Ryan Fazio (Greenwich), Jason Perillo (Shelton), Henri Martin (Bristol), Jeff Gordon (Woodstock), Heather Somers (Groton), Rob Sampson (Wolcott) and Paul Cicarella (North Haven). 

Sampson said the letter is intended to open a broader discussion over regional energy policy. “We are reaching out in good faith to Gov. Hochul to say, ‘Hey, residents and businesses in both our states are being absolutely crushed by electricity costs. So, let’s talk about solutions. Let’s work together to address the crisis and do something about it,’” Sampson said. “We hope Gov. Hochul views this as a respectful request. We look forward to productive dialogue. Without it, the burdens on families and businesses in both our states will only continue to grow.” 

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CSIS warned feds about scientist’s China connection for 21 years

CSIS briefed Natural Resources Canada about Dennis Lu not once, not twice, but three times between 2000 and 2021. For two decades, Canada’s spy agency flagged concerns about a senior scientist collaborating with Chinese counterparts on government energy research. And yet, nothing happened.

Then, in June 2023, Lu traveled to China just before his retirement. While there, he allegedly forwarded nearly 2,000 emails from his government account to his personal account.

When he returned to Canada and found his access had been blocked, a manager ordered it reinstated to process his retirement. Weeks later, Lu allegedly copied more than 2,600 documents from a departmental shared server. 

He has since been charged with breach of trust and unauthorized use of federal computers.

Sheila Gunn Reid and Tamara Lich broke down the case on Wednesday’s Buffalo Roundtable, drawing on reporting by Sam Cooper of The Bureau.

An Ontario Superior Court judge has now ordered CSIS and the Privy Council Office to disclose sensitive records in the prosecution — a significant departure, Sheila noted, from the Liberals’ track record of stonewalling on China-related security files.

“For the first time, a judge is ordering the records turned over,” Sheila said. “Which is completely in contrast to what happened with the Winnipeg lab.”

The Winnipeg connection loomed large over the conversation.

Sheila recalled that Chinese scientists at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg had transferred virus samples to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a military-linked biolab the U.S. government has identified as the likely source of COVID-19. 

When Parliament ordered those documents disclosed, the Trudeau government refused. Trudeau prorogued Parliament over it. “The Conservatives tried to make a complaint to the RCMP,” Sheila said, “who were not all that interested.”

Both hosts drew what Sheila called a conspiracy theory “rooted in fact” — that the Canadian government’s persistent deference to Beijing, in spite of repeated foreign interference scandals, may stem from the Chinese government knowing exactly what came out of that Winnipeg lab, and the Liberals knowing they know.

“Wouldn’t it be a bad look,” Sheila said, “to have allowed what might have been a precursor to COVID-19 to come out of a lab in Winnipeg, end up back in Wuhan, and then be unleashed upon the world?”

Tamara noted the prosecution also lands squarely in the middle of Mark Carney’s sweeping re-engagement with China, in which both nations have pledged that Canada will become a major exporter of energy to the Chinese market.

“Canada has a China problem,” she said. “A foreign interference problem with the Chinese.”

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Canada Just Admitted Justin Trudeau’s Climate Agenda Was A Scam

Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave Canada a lost decade. A key contributor to the country’s stagnation was the Liberal government’s obsession with climate change and its ushering in of green energy policies that were disastrous for a nation rich in natural resources. To make Canada great again, Prime Minister Mark Carney is abandoning climate alarmism and embracing what made the country wealthy in the first place: crude oil.

Canada Loves Oil Again

On June 30, the prime minister published a 17-minute YouTube video, focused exclusively on his predecessor’s climate agenda. He used words like “expensive” and “divisive” to describe Trudeau’s environmental endeavors. Carney essentially admitted that Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives were right.

For right-wing political pundits, this was a rare win for the incumbent. Indeed, in a bid to resuscitate the ailing Canadian economy, Carney is trying to make the country fall back in love with fossil fuels – and appease Alberta – despite years of climate doomerism.

Ottawa announced earlier this month a new West Coast pipeline that will ship up to one million barrels of crude oil per day from Alberta to Asian markets. The federal government gave its blessing to a new west-east crude oil pipeline that will run from Alberta to Ontario. This comes as the Carney Liberals begin to expand liquefied natural gas exports, scrap the consumer carbon tax, and remove the cap on the oil and gas sector’s pollution levels.

Carney already accepted that Canada’s emissions will be higher in the coming years, a fact that was inevitable. Various models currently indicate that the Great White North has been missing its emissions targets, even before the current government’s reforms. Canada lags behind other G7 countries in emissions reductions, and even the United States is outperforming its northern neighbor.

“The certainties of the world of 2015 are long gone. Our neighborhood hasn’t been this hostile since Canada was founded,” the prime minister said. “The world hasn’t been this unstable geopolitically since the end of the Second World War.”

Of course, skepticism is warranted because Carney has spent much of his tenure just talking with his elbows up. From housing to pipelines, it has been all talk and no action. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Germany surprisingly sprang into action and constructed Floating Storage and Regasification Units (FSRUs) to import seaborne liquefied natural gas in fewer than 200 days.

The prime minister has been in office for 15 months with nothing to show for it. Still, capital might be optimistic about Canadian energy moving forward, having been hesitant to invest in various projects across the country over the last 11 years.

What About America?

America’s decision last week not to renew the USMCA could be a major blow to the Canadian economy. The post-NAFTA trade deal will now be subject to annual reviews as the United States raises grievances over production quotas, supply management, rules of origin, and other provisions.

Despite Ottawa’s efforts to diversify its trade by importing more students from India and exporting more oil to Asia, the country still needs its southern neighbor. More than 90 percent of its energy is shipped to the United States, making it an extremely difficult market to replace, even if Canada desires to become an energy superpower.

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B.C.’s oil tanker ban exposed: Why U.S. oil gets a pass but Alberta doesn’t

B.C.’s oil tanker ban is once again under scrutiny as questions mount over why it restricts Alberta crude while allowing foreign oil shipments to pass through the province’s coast.

Drea Humphrey argued that Premier David Eby has emerged as the biggest winner from the latest pipeline discussions between Alberta and Ottawa. “He’s getting exactly what he wanted,” she said, pointing to billions in promised infrastructure spending while any potential pipeline benefits remain years away.

Humphrey also questioned the province’s opposition to transporting Alberta oil by tanker, noting that large foreign vessels already travel the same waters. “How is that any less of a risk to the North Coast?” she asked.

Sheila Gunn Reid argued the federal approach ignores what she sees as an obvious alternative. She noted that American tankers from Alaska are permitted to use the same coastal route, saying, “The tanker ban only applies to Alberta oil. It doesn’t apply to American oil.”

Rather than reviving the cancelled Northern Gateway route to Kitimat, Gunn Reid said the proposed pipeline would head south to Vancouver, making it “infinitely more expensive and inconvenient.”

“I refuse to see this as the win everybody is touting it as,” she added. “It’s likely never going to get built.”

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