Why THE CHOKEPOINT?
THE CHOKEPOINT does not follow the existing headlines. It generates its own stories, and does not carry trending topics. It's always in the opposite direction.
THE CHOKEPOINT looks at the maritime transport sector in Lebanon (my home country) from an original angle, using my own data, on-the-ground sources, and on many occasions historical records collected since 2005. The same goes for the energy and industrial sectors which most of the time will be explored through a historical lens, and with reliance on my own records, including ones that were passed on to me.
Turning to Iraq, most of the reports will be an attempt to throw light on a history that has been either forgotten, muted, or hidden somewhere. For this purpose, I will share historical records, with some dating to the 1950s, and with a special focus on the energy and industrial sectors. I lived and worked in Baghdad between 2019 and early 2023.
In addition to Lebanon and Iraq, I share historical records that show how other Arab countries built themselves to become what they are nowadays, with a focus on the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
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Let me tell you a little bit about my research in general? I'm an energy researcher and analyst, and also a ship tracker. I write on topics related to energy and maritime risks in the Middle East.
Between 2020 and mid 2023, I was an independent energy researcher and consultant working in Baghdad and Beirut. My work has been published by various media outlets, including MEES, Forbes, Amwaj.media, and Energy Fuse.
I'm also currently an MA student in Sustainable Energy at Johns Hopkins SAIS.
Prior to becoming an independent researcher, I was an oil and geopolitical analyst and a tracker of sanctioned oil tankers at ClipperData (now Kpler) a New York-based energy market research firm. I assessed how political and macroeconomic developments affect energy markets in the MENA region.
I also have extensive experience covering political and security developments in Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq, for media outlets including the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times.
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