Foreign Policy Essay
The Exaggerated Threat of Oil Wars
Countries won’t fight for oil in the South China Sea—or anywhere else.
Latest in energy security
Countries won’t fight for oil in the South China Sea—or anywhere else.
Editor’s Note: The article originally appeared on Order from Chaos.
Twice in the past 14 years, a dispute between Ukraine and Russia has led Russia to cut off natural gas flows to Ukraine and Europe. The stage is being set for another cut-off in January. The European Union wants to ensure that gas continues to flow, so EU officials will attempt at a mid-September meeting to broker an agreement. But they face a difficult slog.
August Memories
Not a Drop to Share
Business as Usual?
State of Emergency
Following protests spearheaded by powerful Shiite cleric Moqtada al Sadr, Iraqi Oil Minister Abd al-Mahdi announced his resignation at the end of last month, suspending his activities as Minister and delegating responsibility to his deputy.
The Saudi decision to flood the oil market—otherwise known as the oil price rollercoaster we are currently riding—is what Andrew Scott Cooper calls the “oil trade’s equivalent of dropping a bomb on a rival.” However, while the prevailing wisdom holds that the rival is (now suffering) U.S. shale producers, Cooper argues otherwise.
The rollercoaster ride continues as oil prices reached their highest point in 2016 at $40 per barrel this week — before slipping right back down again.
Following months of speculation, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Qatar, and Venezuela last week announced their intention to freeze oil production at existing (high) levels in an attempt to stabilize the oil market.