Russia closing another door of oil availability to the United States
Morris R. Beschloss
Special to The Desert Sun
December 21, 2006
Another door of oil availability for the United States and other major oil consumers may be rapidly closing, as president Vladimir Putin's Russia is retaking control of his nation's vast energy resources.
After a decade of privatizing its state-owned enterprises in the wake of the Soviet Union's breakup, Russia is rapidly reverting to state ownership under the aegis of its National Resources Ministry.
The latest multi-national oil oligarchy to feel President Putin's heavy hand is Royal Dutch/Shell (the majority stakeholder in the huge Sakhalin-2 field).
Since Royal Dutch must now cede its interest to Gazprom, the Russian monopoly has achieved near total control of Russian oil and natural gas supplies. The decade of private investments in Russia's giant oil industry is rapidly coming to an end.
By combining political as well as legalistic pressure on outside investors, Russia is slowly squeezing energy ownership into minority positions at best. This is similar to Saudi Arabia forcing the multinational oil monopolies (Aramco) of its mammoth oil fields out of its ownership positions about 40 years ago.
Like the Saudis' takeover of Aramco at that time, Russia's Gazprom will become second only to Aramco as the world's largest state-owned energy conglomerate. The irony is that neither of those global mega energy powers could have gotten to first base technologically without the expertise of the West's oil conglomerates.
This Russian government-inspired coup will now use this awesome energy concentration to fulfill its geopolitical objectives. Whereas the previously privatized Russian firms were free to deal with the world's oil multinationals, Russia's central government will now call the shots. This is a blow to the United States, whose sole access to global oil production is through the five massive multinationals. The U.S. is now at the mercy of Russia's whims in allocating its increasingly desirable oil and gas reserves.
Utilizing its newly-organized energy weapon, Russia will likely throw its national power behind nations like China, India and European entities most amenable to its long-term political interests.
Germany, which will become the terminus of a Russian natural gas pipeline, has been assured participation with the appointment of ex-chancellor Gerhard Schröder as the Russo-German Corporation's CEO.
Last winter's temporary shutoff of natural gas to its former satellites was only an opening shot of the future support Russia is prepared to offer its friends and withholding energy supplies from those that are not consistent with the Eurasian power's long-term interests.
With Vladimir Putin rumored to become the new chief executive officer of Gazprom when he finishes his second and last presidential term in 2008, it's doubtful that much of Russia's 6 million daily oil exports will be a prospective supply source for the U.S. in the future.
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