World Needs To Move Out Of OPEC’s ‘Oil Claw’

With the oil crisis straining economies of even the most financially stable nations it’s time that the world formulates & rethinks its energy security policies. For decades the western countries & the developing countries of Asia have been dependent on oil supplies from OPEC nations which have a total monopoly over world’s oil reserves. The need of a sound energy security policy arises from the fact that the oil producing nations, barring Saudi Arabia, have clearly refused to increase production even after repeated pleas from the world leaders.

With election season in full flow in the US & sharp decline in popularity of his government, President Bush & Prime Minister Brown are seeking deals with Middle east countries to make them increase oil production thus help cooling off the boiling oil prices. British PM Gordon Brown wishes to present a new proposal to the Middle east countries through which they would be entitled to hold majority stakes in the renewable energy projects in the western countries. According to the two-point ‘New Deal’:

Saudi Arabia and other oil producers, who are worried about the unpredictability of oil prices, which fell to $10 a barrel a decade ago, would be given the chance to take a major financial stake in the more stable market of renewable energy power in the west.

Britain and other western countries would help to improve the supply of oil in the long term by being given greater chances to invest in oilfields and oil refineries in Opec countries.

But the Prime Minister forgot that the deal would do nothing to end OPEC’s virtual oil monopoly. Brown plans to do the same thing which the US Congress voted against few years back. Refusing to give operational control of major seaports to a middle east company the decision caused a global diplomatic row. If even the new energy projects are placed under the financial controls of the middle east countries how will they be able to achieve the so called ‘energy independence’.

Congress & Voters Slept While Bush Destroyed America

No offence but it has been four years since the start of one of the most unpopular wars in the history & still nothing has changed. Initially there were thousands opposing the war but as the time went by the number grew to millions. Now almost the whole nation is opposed to the war but still nothing is being done to undo one of the biggest & bloodiest mistakes in US history.

George W. Bush fooled every one, be it his fellow citizens who had trusted their commander-in-chief or the allies who saw him as a friend. Bush & his administration told lies upon lies to make up a false case against Iraq by accusing it of sponsoring terrorism against the United States. Bush talked of Iraq’s Liberation but today Iraq is being plagued by the presence of militants that countries like Syria & Saudi Arabia are sending in to attack the US army.

Had Saddam been in power today we would have never allowed any insurgents coming from Saudi Arabia or Syria to step into his country with Iranian weapons in hand & spreading terrorism. There are more militants in Iraq now than they were before & now Iraq is a bigger threat to US interests than ever before. Earlier there was a man who was feared by all but now that Saddam has gone and the efforts of the US government to bring peace & order to the region have failed, the insurgents have cast the web of terror over Iraq which has engulfed the Americans as well.

But Bush isn’t the only one to be blame. This all could have been stopped four years back when Bush was preparing the false case against Iraq branding it as the home of international terrorism. Osama Bin Laden is currently sitting thousands of miles away on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border but still there are more American troops in Iraq than in Afghanistan.

Four years back there was a sudden change in American policy, bringing Laden to justice became secondary to the invasion of Iraq – nobody stopped him. The Congress happily funded the war (& is still doing it) dreaming about the billions of gallons of oil & seeing USA emerging as a major power in the Middle East which would have been beneficial to Israel as well.

America trusted this man not once but twice but I still fail to see the basis of this trust. The man never got in the first place – nobody cared to speak (the result of which the world is witnessing). But the surprise of the century was the re-election. It is completely beyond the understanding of a human mind why would the American people vote for Bush. It is astonishing that Bush actually won the second election even though millions opposed his policies. I would certainly want to know the reasons on basis of which people voted for Bush.

In every debate, the candidates talk about getting the troops out & ending the war but what have they done in the last four years. Nobody did anything to stop Bush from going to war or taking irrational decisions. How can a president justify important decisions like going to war by saying that God came to his dream telling him he was doing the right thing. If this is the way Bush takes decisions we should pray that he never sleeps because it would be disastrous for the whole world if Bush gets a dream of ‘his’ god telling him to nuke Russia.

Dump Iran, Get Gas From Russia

The energy thirsty Indian economy is looking for sources through which it could boost its economic growth into double figures. One of these very important ‘sources’ is Iran. Well, here start the problems for India and their solutions might lead it to its oldest & closest ally, Russia.

India and China have grown into the fastest growing economies in the world and so have their hunger for oil & natural gas, which they want to further propel their economy into the league of the developed nations. Lately, China has been running behind the financially poor but rich in petroleum African nations with loans & infrastructure incentives to get hold of the precious commodity. India, on the other hand, is still considering the proposal of a gas pipeline from Iran through Pakistan which might quench its thirst for energy.

The decision on the pipeline is a difficult one for India. It desperately wants Iranian gas but at the same time it does not want to annoy the United States which recently got into a civilian nuclear energy deal. Both, Iran as well as the US are trying to put pressure on the Indian government and India, is now feeling the crunch. It has to pick one of the two as they have come out as the staunchest enemies.

If India falls short of acquiring the much needed Iranian gas, it is at the risk of losing out to China in the race to become the next superpower. And if it opts for the Iranian gas then it might end up losing the nuclear deal with the US. Both, Iran and America, are trying to take full advantage of this situation. Iran has given India no chance to do some bargaining with the gas pricing. US, on the other hand, want India to stand with it and stop Iran from becoming a nuclear power.

Well, there is a solution, Russia. Russia holds the world’s largest natural gas reserves and has always been a strong ally to India. ONGC, India’s largest public sector oil marketing company already has considerable stake in the gas projects in the Sakhalin. Russia, too, has been using gas as an instrument to dictate terms to weaker countries which are run by US-backed governments. So a strategic partnership between India & Russia, with energy being its center stone, is a scenario which will help both countries in achieving their strategic and economic goals.

Export of military equipment is a vital part of Russia’s economy and India is one of the largest buyers of Russian-made military gear. With India having a large defense budget, Russian-made military equipment easily fit into the picture.

The right thing for India would be to dump the Iranian gas pipeline and go for the more beneficial and convenient option of importing gas from Russia. The import of gas via tankers will prove economically more favorable, plus there won’t be any constant fear of sabotage of the pipeline in Pakistan.

Both Russia and India need each other and its time that they once replenish their friendship by helping each other releasing their strategic goals and ambitions.

Cold War For Oil

During the Cold War days, the USSR and the USA tried to get as many countries as possible onto their sides forming a number of military blocs. Well, Russia lost at that time but now it is preparing to come back and this time with a somewhat different but highly effectively weapon, Oil & Natural Gas.

Not that Russia is secretly building a weapon centered around oil or natural gas, but Russia certainly is trying to form blocs with the countries having rich reserves of oil & natural gas. Russia is looking at the possibility of forming close partnerships with countries having vast proven reserves of oil & natural gas.

Lately Russia has been flexing its muscle to threaten the continuous supply of oil & natural gas to hugely dependent European countries. Belarus and Georgia suffered heavily from the power show that Russia presented to the world, but the main audiences to the show were the Americans. Russia enjoys a total monopoly over the region’s energy scenario as it has the world’s largest reserves of oil & natural gas. With Russia being the only source from which Europe gets its energy, the former Soviet Union seemed to be returning some favors which it was unable to do since the apparent end of the Cold War.

America is thirsty for oil – said President George W. Bush during his address to the Congress. While America has the military might and the money to fight illegitimate wars for control over the world’s oil, Russia lacks both of them. So Russia is trying to do what it failed to do properly during the Cold War, forming blocs with countries which really matter. America is spending hundreds of billions of dollars for the war in Iraq but it hasn’t got anything out of it, so this strategy didn’t impress the Russians.

Right that Russia does not have the military might & money to fight wars or even think about it, but it certainly has something which America carves for, oil & natural gas. So Russia is out to find some ‘friends’ in this latest round of the Cold War for energy. Talking to Iran and Qatar, Russia wants to form an organization on the lines of the OPEC. Together these three hold about 55.8% of the world’s proven reserves of natural gas, with Russia alone holding about 26.6%.

The image of USA, in the Middle East, has suffered a serious hit after the much criticized invasion of Iraq and its approach towards the degrading law & order situation there. Russia seems to be taking advantage of this situation. Russia has come out strongly against any harsh sanctions on Iran and has been ably supported by China (another country in need of energy to fuel its rapidly growing economy). China too has interest in Iranian gas and so is India which is looking towards signing a pact for laying a pipeline through Pakistan to get the Iranian gas.

Unlike the US, Russia wants to get hold over oil & natural gas through peaceful but decisive ways. With Latin America too dominated by anti-American leaders, their alliance with Russia over oil & natural gas won’t be a highly surprising development. Russia wants to hit America where it hurts the most. It will now be interesting to see how the US tackles Russia’s tactics using oil & natural gas as an instrument to change the order of the world.