Gas, The Strait of Hormuz and the Raw Materials Geopolitical Landscape of the Middle East
Michael Barron is a Middle East political risk specialist who came to natural resources by an unusual route. He studied Arabic, worked in consultancy, then moved into the oil and gas industry – a background that lets him read a gas field and a government with equal fluency.
He is also the author of The Gaza Marine Story, which traces the untapped gas field off the coast of Gaza that, more than two decades after its discovery, has still not been developed. His central point is that political events can erupt overnight, but the trends that produce them – population growth, economic pressure, shifting alliances – build over years.
Good risk management, he argues, isn’t about predicting the next headline. It’s about recognising those slower currents early enough not to be surprised. The conversation moves through Gaza, Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, gas as a feedstock for fertiliser, the region’s under-explored mineral wealth, and why national interest matters more than any single government.
Michaels Book, ‘The Gaza Marine Story: The Politics and Intrigue Behind Palestine’s Untapped Gas Wealth’ is available now via Nomad Publishing
Listen to Michaels’ 2023 Responsible Raw Materials Conference presentation on ‘Building Trust Using Beneficial Ownership Transparency’ here.
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