Executive Summary: Beijing has formally escalated its critical minerals strategy by launching a coordinated, multi-agency campaign to enforce full-chain control over rare earth and strategic mineral exports, mobilizing more than a dozen central and provincial agencies to supervise mining, processing, licensing, and export operations. Authorities... MORE

Executive Summary: Ukraine has escalated its campaign against Russian energy targets, striking the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s (CPC) Kropotkinskaia oil pumping station (OPS) in February. The CPC pipeline is Kazakhstan’s primary export route, handling 80 percent of its crude oil, and the strike on the Kropotkinskaia... MORE

Executive Summary: Azerbaijan and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) signed a series of new agreements on renewable energy cooperation, including solar and wind, reinforcing mutual goals of carbon reduction and green energy development. The PRC’s low-cost renewable technologies can help Azerbaijan affordably expand its... MORE

Executive Summary: The European Union’s 14th sanctions included restrictions on the transshipment of Russian liquified natural gas (LNG) through EU territory to third-party countries. The sanctions related to contracts signed before June 24, 2024 came into effect on March 26. Russia’s LNG industry faces significant... MORE

Executive Summary: Russia is experiencing energy shortages and electricity generation problems exacerbated by its war against Ukraine, sanctions, and cryptocurrency mining. Russia’s electricity exports to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) significantly dropped in 2024 due to energy deficits in the Far East, and these... MORE

Executive Summary: In mid-February, Türkiye and Turkmenistan signed an agreement facilitating the flow of natural gas through Iran, a step to enhance Türkiye’s energy security and diversify its supply. Iran’s technical issues in infrastructure and the increased chances of U.S. sanctions bring risks of supply... MORE

Executive Summary: The “Eastern Data Western Computing” plan is a multiagency strategy that coordinates cloud computing data centers and energy infrastructure across the People’s Republic of China. These are increasingly relevant with the rise of artificial intelligence. This cloud infrastructure buildout likely will not rival that... MORE

Executive Summary: Russia’s global liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to grew in 2024, despite heavy sanctions. Russia plans to continue this trend and capture 20 to 25 percent of the global LNG market by 2035. To achieve this goal, Russia has created two strategies: a... MORE

Executive Summary: The Baltic states recently marked a major milestone by disconnecting from the Soviet-era electricity system and synchronizing with the continental European grid. The disconnect from the Moscow-controlled system was marked by Russian influence operations and incidents related to critical infrastructure in the Baltic... MORE

Executive Summary: The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has officially approved a 60-gigawatt hydropower dam on the Yarlung Zangbo river in Tibet, estimated to cost over 1 trillion renminbi ($137 billion) and surpass the capacity of the Three Gorges Dam. The project aligns with national... MORE