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Alan W. Dowd is a Senior Fellow with the American Security Council Foundation, where he writes on the full range of topics relating to national defense, foreign policy and international security. Dowd’s commentaries and essays have appeared in Policy Review, Parameters, Military Officer, The American Legion Magazine, The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations, The Claremont Review of Books, World Politics Review, The Wall Street Journal Europe, The Jerusalem Post, The Financial Times Deutschland, The Washington Times, The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Examiner, The Detroit News, The Sacramento Bee, The Vancouver Sun, The National Post, The Landing Zone, Current, The World & I, The American Enterprise, Fraser Forum, American Outlook, The American and the online editions of Weekly Standard, National Review and American Interest. Beyond his work in opinion journalism, Dowd has served as an adjunct professor and university lecturer; congressional aide; and administrator, researcher and writer at leading think tanks, including the Hudson Institute, Sagamore Institute and Fraser Institute. An award-winning writer, Dowd has been interviewed by Fox News Channel, Cox News Service, The Washington Times, The National Post, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and numerous radio programs across North America. In addition, his work has been quoted by and/or reprinted in The Guardian, CBS News, BBC News and the Council on Foreign Relations. Dowd holds degrees from Butler University and Indiana University. Follow him at twitter.com/alanwdowd.

ASCF News

Scott Tilley is a Senior Fellow at the American Security Council Foundation, where he writes the “Technical Power” column, focusing on the societal and national security implications of advanced technology in cybersecurity, space, and foreign relations.

He is an emeritus professor at the Florida Institute of Technology. Previously, he was with the University of California, Riverside, Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute, and IBM. His research and teaching were in the areas of computer science, software & systems engineering, educational technology, the design of communication, and business information systems.

He is president and founder of the Center for Technology & Society, president and co-founder of Big Data Florida, past president of INCOSE Space Coast, and a Space Coast Writers’ Guild Fellow.

He has authored over 150 academic papers and has published 28 books (technical and non-technical), most recently Systems Analysis & Design (Cengage, 2020), SPACE (Anthology Alliance, 2019), and Technical Justice (CTS Press, 2019). He wrote the “Technology Today” column for FLORIDA TODAY from 2010 to 2018.

He is a popular public speaker, having delivered numerous keynote presentations and “Tech Talks” for a general audience. Recent examples include the role of big data in the space program, a four-part series on machine learning, and a four-part series on fake news.

He holds a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Victoria (1995).

Contact him at stilley@cts.today.

India Looks Elsewhere for Oil as US Sanctions Crimp Russia Trade

Thursday, February 29, 2024

Comments: 0

Source: Bloomberg
By Rakesh Sharma and Sudhi Ranjan Sen
February 29, 2024 at 4:02 AM EST

Russianoil_source_farsnew.ir

Tightening enforcement of US sanctions is denting India’s oil trade with Russia, forcing processors to consider other supplies, according to refinery executives familiar with the matter.

Russia is still the dominant supplier to India, but there are signs refiners are buying more from elsewhere. Overall imports from Saudi Arabia are 22% higher this month than January, with the biggest private refiner — Reliance Industries Ltd. — taking its highest volume since May 2020, according to Kpler.

India’s refiners are keen to take more Russian oil, but there would need to be US approval for buying to ramp up again, the executives said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.

India's Imports of Russian Oil Jumped After the War
Mounting US sanctions making the trade much harder

Russian oil is now only $2-$4 a barrel cheaper than other supplies and double-digit discounts are unlikely to return due to competition for barrels from China, the executives said. The discount blew out to more than $30 after the war.

India’s imports of Russian oil surged after the war as refiners took advantage of cheaper barrels that other buyers shunned. At its peak last year, crude from the OPEC+ producer accounted for almost half of the nation’s purchases, but fresh US sanctions has recently stranded some cargoes.

Moscow is also seeking payment in yuan due to increased scrutiny by some banks over using dirhams to settle the trade in the past few months, said a refinery executive and a government official.

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