War, politics, oil and gas

Iraq is not the only oil war at this time. New political battles for oil and gas are emerging as tensions rise between Western oil and gas conglomerates and the governments of non-Western countries, which are major future suppliers of these vital resources.

Whatever happens, none can prevent a loss of bargaining power in oil and gas compared with the new producers over the next 15 years because data comparisons suggest that oil and gas resources in industrialized countries are being depleted ten times faster than in other countries. This growing dependence on imports is bad news with oil prices already well above $70 a barrel.
Industrialized countries consume more than half of global oil and gas output but possess only a quarter of production. They have less than 8% of the world’s remaining proved reserves of oil and gas. In contrast, developing or transition economies were 21 of the top 25 countries ranked in 2005 by total remaining proved reserves.

With a mess in Iraq, quarrel with Iran and the declining political clout of their governments, Western companies are finding it more difficult to access those remaining reserves in countries that have been Russia’s sphere of influence for decades if not centuries.

The Moderate Voice