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 have been living and working in Baghdad since 2019.
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 at the beginning on a country that stands out in the Gulf region: Oman.
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Let me tell you a little bit about myself? I’m a researcher and consultant focusing on the energy sector. You can find my work published by MEES, Forbes.com, Energy Fuse, Amwaj.Media, Attaqa, and others. I’m also a senior fellow at the DC-based Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and you can find my work for the Institute here.
In 2021, I prepared an investigative report and a documentary on Lebanon's oil imports sector, including the country's latest efforts to import oil products from Iraq. The work was prepared for the Lebanese Oil and Gas Initiative (LOGI).
Prior to that, I was an analyst at ClipperData (now Kpler), a New York-based market research firm, covering the MENA region. The best part of my work was tracking vessels with unusual activities- something I still do every day. Since 2020, I have been looking into substandard ships in Lebanon and the Mediterranean region in general. Click here to see my latest on this subject.
I also have extensive experience covering political and security developments in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, for media outlets like the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times.
I started my journalistic career in 2010 working for my mentor, veteran journalist Tewfik Mishlawi (1935 -2012), the editor of the Middle East Reporter (MER) newsletter (1976-2012).
Feel free to email me if you have questions about my work: noamraydan[at]proton[dot]me.
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