Mykhailo Pyrtko – Law, Energy, and International Investment Insights

  In the 21st century, a quiet but fundamental shift has taken place — one that has radically redefined the very concept of energy security. If in the previous century oil and gas shaped geopolitics, industrial development, and economic stability, today this role is gradually shifting to critical materials: lithium, nickel, cobalt, and rare earth elements. These resources have become the backbone of battery manufacturing, electric vehicles, wind turbines, energy storage systems, and modern defense technologies. Demand for these materials is not just rising — it is growing exponentially. Over the past decade, global lithium production has more than tripled, while demand for nickel used in batteries has increased sevenfold. This surge is a direct consequence of the global energy transition and the explosive growth of electric transport. And as demand rises, competition among states and corporations for access to deposits, technologies, and production chains intensifies. If a country’...

  In 2025, the issue of energy security has once again moved to the center of European politics. After wars, sanctions, price shocks, and the accelerated “green transition,” Europe is entering a new phase in which energy is no longer just a technical or economic sector. It becomes the foundation of geopolitics, industrial strategy, and national resilience. Today, Europe is simultaneously moving in two directions — toward greater autonomy and toward deeper integration. These two processes do not contradict each other, although this is often how they are portrayed in public debates. Autonomy helps reduce dependence on individual suppliers, while integration creates a broader zone of stability where EU countries can exchange resources and contain risks. In my opinion, the biggest challenge for Europe today is not choosing between these two models, but the ability to combine them into a unified strategy. Energy security can no longer be a national category — it has become systemic, s...

  In 2025, energy finally ceased to be just an economic category — it has become the main instrument of global politics. After several years of wars, sanctions, and an accelerated “green transition,” the world has entered a new phase of energy geopolitics, where the boundaries between allies and competitors are often blurred. Europe is trying to maintain a balance between decarbonization and energy security. The United States uses oil and liquefied natural gas as the “energy weapon of democracies.” China is building its own supply chains in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, the Middle East — especially the United Arab Emirates — is showing that even traditional oil exporters can transform into global leaders of the “green” transition. The global energy sector is no longer divided into “clean” and “dirty.” Its real divide lies between systems that shape political influence and those that merely react to it. In 2025, it is the choice of partners and areas of coo...

At a time when the world is undergoing a massive transformation of energy markets, Africa is gradually stepping out of the shadow of traditional oil and gas suppliers. Amid geopolitical shifts, resource shortages, and the accelerating transition to renewable energy, more and more countries on the continent are seeking their own paths toward energy self-sufficiency. One of the most consistent and forward-thinking among them is a country that until recently was rarely seen as a global energy player — Morocco. Just two decades ago, Morocco was almost entirely dependent on imported energy, and its domestic reserves of gas and oil could not meet even the most basic needs of the internal market. However, political stability, predictable economic policy, and the government’s strategic vision allowed the country to achieve what many of its neighbors could not: turning weakness into strength. The lack of domestic hydrocarbon reserves pushed Morocco to bet on the sun, wind, and technology — and ...