Artikel menarik, Saat ini minyak sebagai agent dari energi global. Indonesia sendiri saat ini masih kesulitan mengisi kebutuhan dalam negeri (net importer), bahkan issue terakhir ada yg menyatakan minyak tinggal 12 tahun lagi.
ah kok ngeri ngebayangin rebutan minyak (energi) ini. RDP ================================================ Published February 22, 2005 Power politics and oil in our own lives by Alex Duncan http://www.tuftsdaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/02/22/421ab6db88799 You have just returned from a ski trip after several hours on the road. All the while, shots ring out somewhere in Central Asia between government and rebel forces. The Chinese and Russian ambassadors to the U.N. scowl in disapproval at something the American ambassador has been pushing for. A terrorist attack rocks the Moscow metro and threatens the balance of the city. Money passes under the table between government and oil executives, millions of dollars at a time. And now, you are enjoying a movie in your heated dorm. Scenarios like this unfold every single day around the globe. In EPIIC, we have had the fortune to examine the roots of these issues and their linkages. The annual EPIIC symposium, this year titled "Oil and Water," begins on Wednesday and runs until Sunday. The symposium is a public forum for experts to debate issues from varying viewpoints, and for the public to think broadly about these same issues. The symposium demonstrates that power politics and our daily lives are more connected than ever. The competition for resources and the stakes associated have never been higher. American needs for oil and natural gas resources have a profound impact on our relations with other countries. Given dwindling American domestic oil production and our growing appetite, we are increasingly looking for new energy sources worldwide. This translates into competition between other major powers like the E.U., Russia, and China. It also means uneasy relations with producer nations like Venezuela, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and other countries in the Middle East. International politics are primarily about two things: power and economics. Since a state's economy is an essential element of its power, military force is often used to ensure vital resources. First semester we were fortunate to have read both "Blood and Oil" and "Resource Wars" by Michael Klare. These two books give a remarkably clear picture of the past decade's decision-making and power politics, which have ensured us the natural resources necessary to make the American economy the most vibrant in the world. Klare, a speaker at this year's EPIIC symposium, allows us to understand the stakes at play. The fuel we need to run our economies does not simply come to us by chance or by good will. It has to be fought for and protected. For every drop of oil that we use to drive our cars or heat our home, a tremendous amount of time and money is spent making sure we get it. According to Herman Scheer, the President of the World Council on Renewable Energy, there are seven steps to get oil out of the ground and into your car: extraction, fuel transportation, fuel refining, waste disposal, storage of refined products, fuel shipping, and fuel combustion into usable energy. The first three are the most contentious because whoever controls extraction has a say in who can transport and consequently who can refine. When a nation like Saudi Arabia can dictate who receives their massive oil reserves, the competition is fierce. Transportation is tremendously lucrative, which makes geography a key component of the international oil trade. The major oil chokepoints include the Straits of Hormuz (dictating flow from the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world), the Straits of Malacca (between Malaysia and Indonesia), the Suez Canal, the Bosporus and Dardanelles (connecting the Black Sea and the Mediterranean), Straits of Gibraltar, and the Panama Canal. The Straits of Hormuz are the most important since the most important oil producing region is the Persian Gulf. The oil from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, and the U.A.E. all flow through this narrow body of water which Iran controls. Given our difficult relations with Iran and the questions surrounding their nuclear program, a constant, weary eye watches the straits. The oil of the Caspian has the potential of being an equally volatile issue. Much of it was untapped during the Cold War, and now bidding revolves around who can get access to the fields and who can transport it. Since Moscow historically controlled the flow of Caspian oil and gas, all of the pipelines run north towards Russia. Any American interests in the region would need oil and gas to flow around Russia and Iran. Steve Coll, a Pulitzer Prize winner and formerly of the Washington Post, details the American pipeline plans through Afghanistan in his book "Ghost Wars." The pipeline would have taken advantage of Turkmenistan's massive natural gas without going through Russia or Iran, two major rivals in the region. This all brings us to our own daily lives. Certainly there are many other examples of oil geopolitics like Venezuela and Nigeria, but they all contribute to our own quality of living here at home. We have a freedom of mobility enjoyed by few societies on earth. Gasoline is relatively cheap and abundant. Nearly all of our homes are heated or have air conditioning. Our factories, the heart of the industrial part of our economy, depend mostly on imported fuel. All of the plastics we use are petroleum products. Our lives are tied to the successful acquisition and distribution of oil and natural gas. This dependence grows as our standard of living and population continue to surge. Some speakers this weekend, like Mike Eckhart, President of the American Council on Renewable Energy, will argue for a greener agenda, whereas Gerry Gabriel of ExxonMobil will argue that fossil fuels can continue to be used for a long time. What makes us excited is that these two will have the chance to present to the public on the same panel on Sunday. We encourage everyone to come to the EPIIC symposium and understand more about these issues of grave importance. Gaining insight on the necessity of oil in our lives, the world economy, international relations, and international security is something we can all stand to gain from. Alex Duncan is a senior and IR and Russian and Eastern European Studies Major. He is also a member of the 2005 EPIIC Colloquium: Oil and Water. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit FOGRI Website: http://fogri.or.id FOGRI Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/fogri%40iagi.or.id/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------
