Tweet
Re: The impending war with Iran
So I also trotted over to the newspaper in Baku, Azerbaijan to see if they were reporting anything interesting about the situation between Tehran and the US. There was a story from Asia Times that says Tehran is becoming good buddies with China, by signing these huge deals for LNG.
"...Since the beginning of the war in Iraq, Beijing has worked feverishly to strengthen its ties with Moscow and Teheran in an apparent effort to prevent US military action against the remaining "axis of evil" members, Iran and North Korea. In addition to recent massive energy deals with Teheran, which place Iran in China's security web, both Beijing and Moscow have accelerated the transfer of missile technology to Teheran, while selling the Islamic republic increasingly sophisticated military equipment.
Armed with a vast array of anti-ship and long-range missiles, Iran can target US troop positions throughout the Middle East and strike US Navy ships. Iran can also use its weapons to blockade the Straits of Hormuz through which one-third of the world's traded oil is shipped. With the help of Beijing and Moscow, Teheran is becoming an increasingly unappealing military target for the US.
As in the Middle East, the China-Iran-Russia axis is challenging US interests in Central Asia. Washington is working feverishly to gain security footholds in Tajikistan and Kazakhstan to complement existing US military bases in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. China and Russia are working equally hard to assert their influence in Central Asia. A good portion of this work is being done under the auspices of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO.)
Composed of China, Russia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the SCO was created in 1996 and reborn in 2001 when it was bolstered to counter the initial eastward expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The SCO is becoming an increasingly powerful regional mutual security organization. Joint military maneuvers between SCO member states began in 2003. In 2004, the SCO created a rapid reaction anti-terror strike force. According to Igor Rogachev, Russia's ambassador to China, the new force is designed to combat and respond to terrorist attacks in any SCO member nation...."
And then there's this "non-aggression" agreement that was signed by Baku and Tehran which states that neither will allow a third country to set up a military base for the purpose of attacking the other country. Yeow.
Looks like the Americans have been duped again. We paid the Azeri regime big bucks to have a military base there. Is the dictator going to kick us out, now that this non-aggression treaty has been signed with Tehran, or is he going to be cagey and take what he can get from both sides?
There were demonstrations today in the capital of Baku demanding free elections and the overthrow of the current regime. My guess is we have a little hand in "helping" the protestors with advice and money, just like we did in the Ukraine.
And a report from TimesOnline (UK) today says that according to a British energy consulting company, the discovery of new large reserves of petroleum by the large multinational oil companies has not kept pace with the demand.
"... In the face of steady annual increases in demand for oil over the past decade, the West’s big oil companies largely have failed to improve the yearly exploration yield of new reserves to their portfolios, the study shows. Smaller discoveries and diminishing reserves per well are adding to pressure on oil companies in the West to gain access to large, unexploited oilfields in Russia and the Gulf states.
The Wood Mackenzie report, Global Oil and Gas Risks and Rewards, shows that typical annual returns from oil exploration — in the region of between three billion and five billion barrels — have not changed since the early 1990s. The only exception to the largely stagnant exploration trend was the discovery in 2000 of Kashagan, a ten billion barrel oilfield, in the Caspian Sea.
Graham Kellas, vice-president at Wood Mackenzie, reckons that the international oil companies were highly successful in finding oil during the past decade, but now are working in a diminishing field of opportunity. “The hunt for oil continues, but it is becoming increasingly difficult,’’ he said. “There are few areas of the world that are unexplored and that is why the larger companies are so keen to get access to areas that are off-limits.”
I tell you, this is like playing "Risk", except the fate of the world is at stake.
So I also trotted over to the newspaper in Baku, Azerbaijan to see if they were reporting anything interesting about the situation between Tehran and the US. There was a story from Asia Times that says Tehran is becoming good buddies with China, by signing these huge deals for LNG.
"...Since the beginning of the war in Iraq, Beijing has worked feverishly to strengthen its ties with Moscow and Teheran in an apparent effort to prevent US military action against the remaining "axis of evil" members, Iran and North Korea. In addition to recent massive energy deals with Teheran, which place Iran in China's security web, both Beijing and Moscow have accelerated the transfer of missile technology to Teheran, while selling the Islamic republic increasingly sophisticated military equipment.
Armed with a vast array of anti-ship and long-range missiles, Iran can target US troop positions throughout the Middle East and strike US Navy ships. Iran can also use its weapons to blockade the Straits of Hormuz through which one-third of the world's traded oil is shipped. With the help of Beijing and Moscow, Teheran is becoming an increasingly unappealing military target for the US.
As in the Middle East, the China-Iran-Russia axis is challenging US interests in Central Asia. Washington is working feverishly to gain security footholds in Tajikistan and Kazakhstan to complement existing US military bases in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. China and Russia are working equally hard to assert their influence in Central Asia. A good portion of this work is being done under the auspices of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO.)
Composed of China, Russia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the SCO was created in 1996 and reborn in 2001 when it was bolstered to counter the initial eastward expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The SCO is becoming an increasingly powerful regional mutual security organization. Joint military maneuvers between SCO member states began in 2003. In 2004, the SCO created a rapid reaction anti-terror strike force. According to Igor Rogachev, Russia's ambassador to China, the new force is designed to combat and respond to terrorist attacks in any SCO member nation...."
And then there's this "non-aggression" agreement that was signed by Baku and Tehran which states that neither will allow a third country to set up a military base for the purpose of attacking the other country. Yeow.
Looks like the Americans have been duped again. We paid the Azeri regime big bucks to have a military base there. Is the dictator going to kick us out, now that this non-aggression treaty has been signed with Tehran, or is he going to be cagey and take what he can get from both sides?
There were demonstrations today in the capital of Baku demanding free elections and the overthrow of the current regime. My guess is we have a little hand in "helping" the protestors with advice and money, just like we did in the Ukraine.
And a report from TimesOnline (UK) today says that according to a British energy consulting company, the discovery of new large reserves of petroleum by the large multinational oil companies has not kept pace with the demand.
"... In the face of steady annual increases in demand for oil over the past decade, the West’s big oil companies largely have failed to improve the yearly exploration yield of new reserves to their portfolios, the study shows. Smaller discoveries and diminishing reserves per well are adding to pressure on oil companies in the West to gain access to large, unexploited oilfields in Russia and the Gulf states.
The Wood Mackenzie report, Global Oil and Gas Risks and Rewards, shows that typical annual returns from oil exploration — in the region of between three billion and five billion barrels — have not changed since the early 1990s. The only exception to the largely stagnant exploration trend was the discovery in 2000 of Kashagan, a ten billion barrel oilfield, in the Caspian Sea.
Graham Kellas, vice-president at Wood Mackenzie, reckons that the international oil companies were highly successful in finding oil during the past decade, but now are working in a diminishing field of opportunity. “The hunt for oil continues, but it is becoming increasingly difficult,’’ he said. “There are few areas of the world that are unexplored and that is why the larger companies are so keen to get access to areas that are off-limits.”
I tell you, this is like playing "Risk", except the fate of the world is at stake.
Comment