The Pipes Carry Clout With the Oil

AS energy-rich countries feel empowered by high oil prices, they are increasingly using a blunt instrument to make their influence felt. Call it the power of the pipeline.

“Pipelines play a critical role in an age of increased tightness in energy markets, terrorist threats to energy infrastructure, and political use of energy resources,” said Anne Korin, the co-director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, a research center based in Washington.