China is fast becoming a major player in the world oil market. There is an editorial today on Financial times.com about China contemplating a takeover
of US oil giant Unocal.
… Asia has suddenly accelerated its quest for energy security in recent days. Chinese oil companies are expanding their investment horizon to the
point of weighing up the purchase of a US major, Unocal. India has followed China into investing in Iranian oil and gas. Both are vying for a piece of
Russia's truncated Yukos. And India has just hosted the first meeting of Gulf oil-producing and Asian oil-consuming countries.
It is not surprising that oil-poor Asia has become so energy-anxious. Its four big economies - China, Japan, India and South Korea - import 12m
barrels a day, more than the US, and their import dependence is either higher or rising faster than the US.
…
This is old-fashioned mercantilism. But if it leads, for instance, China to bid for Unocal, why should the US object any more than it did to BP's
numerous US purchases? Provided, of course, that China behaves like BP, and does not somehow attempt to use Unocal as its own private pumping
station, taking it out of the market. – [emphasis added] - story - see
also NEWS: Chinese Company Mulls Unocal Bid
This move comes on the heels of several other geopolitical moves moves by China.
For example …
They have signed energy deals worth $200 billion with Iran.
China Rocks the Geopolitical
Boat!
They have moved into the US sphere of political influence signing large trade deals with Brazil and Argentina and had talks with Chile and Cuba.
China keeps rocking the geopolitical boat!
They have been courting Canadian oil companies.
China Emerging as U.S. Rival for Canada’s
Oil
They have strengthened their relationship with Venezuela. Had the European arms embargo lifted and negotiated military links with Russia as well as
negotiating a trade deal with New Zealand.
China and Venezuela to strengthen
partnership
and
They have teamed up with Russia and Venezuela (perhaps as a challenge to OPEC?).
OPEC's
Days Are Numbered
Michael Ruppert on the FTW website speculates that the recent announcement from Russia to build their new pipeline to the pacific (so as to supply
Japan and related markets) is a ruse to get Japan to pay for part of the pipeline that will eventually feed China rather that Japan.
No. There's something else moving under the carpet here. That was hinted at by Japan's reluctance to celebrate until Putin hit them with his
investment demands.
This is far from over and China is far from out of the game. I would not put it past Putin to use it to buy time with the US while laying the seeds
for a collapse of talks and construction down the road; say when the pipeline is built to the geographic point where it must either turn south or
continue east. That's maybe 2-3 years away and in the meantime Putin's options remain open. Wouldn't it be nice to have Japan pay for that segment
of the pipeline?
China would love that.
This is the end game of games. There are no rules. – story
All of these geopolitical moves have occurred during the last few months.
There is definitely a rush on for grabbing the last oil reserves on the planet and China is moving fast and furious while the US is bogged down in
Iraq trying to take their share by force. The US is also at war with Europe (economically) trying to prevent the Euro from replacing the Petrodollar
(see
third post about Petrodollars in
this thread).
So what do you think?
Is the US sleeping at the switch while bogged down in Iraq?
Is there some reason a Chinese oil company could not buy an American oil company in the land where the "free market" is worshipped?
Will China soon own an oil tanker named after Condi Rice?
.
How did you feel about China's bid for Noranda Mines? The defunct Foreign Investment Review
Agency (a Trudeau creation to hamstring American economic expansion in Canada) would have been a neat tool to use against Pierre's Red pals. Should
we sell our resources (even unprofitable ones) to dictatorial regimes? It's not just the Americans who have to worry about this.
