The United States must find alternative energy sources to boost domestic supplies and help fast-growing China and India become more energy efficient, President George W. Bush said on Monday.
"It's in our economic interest and our national interest to help countries like India and China become more efficient users of oil," Bush said in a speech while visiting a biodiesel production plant in rural Virginia.
"That would help take the pressure off global oil supply, take the pressure off prices here at home," he said.
Alternative fuels such as biodiesel, ethanol, and hydrogen would make the United States "less dependent on foreign sources of oil," Bush said.
Oil prices soared to record highs in April and dampened the president's public job approval ratings. Prices have since declined.
Bush said at the G-8 meeting of the world's richest nations in July he will ask the group to help developing countries find "practical ways to use clean energy technologies" and be more efficient in energy use.
China's thirst for crude oil far outstripped expectations in 2004, contributing to tight global supplies. Although China's oil demand growth slowed in the first quarter of 2005, some analysts said on Sunday that its April crude oil imports soared by 23 percent to an all-time monthly high of 12.25 million tonnes.
"We must be better conservers. We must produce and refine more crude oil here in America. We must help countries like India and China reduce their demand for crude oil," Bush said. "And we've got to develop new fuels like biodiesel and ethanol as alternatives to diesel and gasoline.
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"That would help take the pressure off global oil supply, take the pressure off prices here at home," he said
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The Strait of Malacca, linking the Indian and Pacific Oceans, is the shortest sea route between three of the world's most populous countries -- India, China, and Indonesia -- and therefore is considered to be the key choke point in Asia. The narrowest point of this shipping lane is the Phillips Channel in the Singapore Strait, which is only 1.5 miles wide at its narrowest point. This creates a natural bottleneck, with the potential for a collision, grounding, or oil spill (in addition, piracy is a regular occurrence in the Singapore Strait). If the strait were closed, nearly half of the world's fleet would be required to sail further, generating a substantial increase in the requirement for vessel capacity. All excess capacity of the world fleet might be absorbed, with the effect strongest for crude oil shipments and dry bulk such as coal. Closure of the Strait of Malacca would immediately raise freight rates worldwide. More than 50,000 vessels per year transit the Strait of Malacca. With Chinese oil imports from the Middle East increasing steadily, the Strait of Malacca is likely to grow in strategic importance in coming years.
