Tuesday, December 06, 2005
2008?
The G8 are surely not equipped to deal with the global energy crisis. Moreover they're asking for a report on the situation in 2008.
However there is greater urgency in Asia. Businessweek reports today that two countries not in the G8 - India and China - have plans to act shortly. A pan-Asian oil and gas grid is in the offing.
"Chinese state oil giants have so far had an edge over their Indian counterparts in the search for energy resources because of a head start and deeper pockets. They've beaten Indian rivals in the race for some blocks in Angola, Myanmar, and Indonesia. But the Chinese see the importance of collaboration over confrontation, Aiyar [India's Oil Minister] asserts, citing a string of discussions between his ministry and authorities in Beijing since early 2005."
"The 64-year-old minister, who had built a long career in India's foreign diplomatic corps before joining politics, emerged optimistic from the Nov. 25 roundtable concerning cooperation between North and Central Asian producers and the main regional consumers China, Japan, South Korea, and India. He used the occasion to reiterate his call to former Soviet bloc producers and the vital transit country of Turkey to pay adequate attention to Eastern markets, instead of focusing solely on Europe."
"SECURITY IS KEY. While the message went down well with the producers -- Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan -- Aiyar found an especially strong ally in Turkish counterpart Mehmet Hilmi Guler. "Hilmi Guler belongs to an Islamic conservative party and therefore has some sense of discomfort with a purely Western orientation," Aiyar told reporters in a post-event briefing. "He has become a great advocate," said Aiyar, referring to a "north-south" oil and gas supply relationship he has championed with Turkey in the past few months."
Update
It is reported that Russia wants to prioritise energy when it chairs the G8 in 2006.
However there is greater urgency in Asia. Businessweek reports today that two countries not in the G8 - India and China - have plans to act shortly. A pan-Asian oil and gas grid is in the offing.
"Chinese state oil giants have so far had an edge over their Indian counterparts in the search for energy resources because of a head start and deeper pockets. They've beaten Indian rivals in the race for some blocks in Angola, Myanmar, and Indonesia. But the Chinese see the importance of collaboration over confrontation, Aiyar [India's Oil Minister] asserts, citing a string of discussions between his ministry and authorities in Beijing since early 2005."
"The 64-year-old minister, who had built a long career in India's foreign diplomatic corps before joining politics, emerged optimistic from the Nov. 25 roundtable concerning cooperation between North and Central Asian producers and the main regional consumers China, Japan, South Korea, and India. He used the occasion to reiterate his call to former Soviet bloc producers and the vital transit country of Turkey to pay adequate attention to Eastern markets, instead of focusing solely on Europe."
"SECURITY IS KEY. While the message went down well with the producers -- Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan -- Aiyar found an especially strong ally in Turkish counterpart Mehmet Hilmi Guler. "Hilmi Guler belongs to an Islamic conservative party and therefore has some sense of discomfort with a purely Western orientation," Aiyar told reporters in a post-event briefing. "He has become a great advocate," said Aiyar, referring to a "north-south" oil and gas supply relationship he has championed with Turkey in the past few months."
Update
It is reported that Russia wants to prioritise energy when it chairs the G8 in 2006.
# posted by IJ @ 4:14 AM 
