Hi all!
I teamed up with two more Italian geopolitics experts to deliver a report for the most important Italian geopolitics magazine, "LIMES".
The topic is the perception that Americans have of Italy.
This "perception" will concern political, commercial and social aspects.
If you want to give your opinion, please shoot me a mail at stefanocasertano@gmail.com
Ciao!
Stef
After the Saudis rejected a presidential request to increase production last month, they are autonomously deciding to do so! The kingdom's national oil company Aramco is also opening up a new field, Kurai, which is projected as the second largest after the legendary Gahwar one.Gulf states may soon need coal imports to keep the lights on
The Emirates were built on oil and provide fuel to the world but already they need other sources of energy
They are countries so rich in oil and gas that they would never want for fuel to drive their booming economies and the lavish lifestyles of their rulers.
Now, however, in a role reversal that makes selling sand to Saudi Arabia look like a sensible business transaction, the oil-rich Gulf states are planning to import coal.
An acute shortage of natural gas has led to the city states of the United Arab Emirates seeking alternative fuels to keep the air cool, the lights on and the water running.
Abu Dhabi is working with Suez, the French utility company, on a nuclear power project but coal is emerging as the best quick fix to avert blackouts as the world’s biggest hydrocarbon exporters struggle to cope with high prices for oil and natural gas, infrastructure weakness and a development boom. Some of the world's biggest oil exporters may soon find themselves reliant on imported fuel from a leading coal exporter, such as South Africa.
As a result, Taqa, Abu Dhabi’s national energy company, plans to take a half share in a proposed £500 million coal-fired power plant, while Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) hopes to start work on a clean-coal project this year.
Oman Power and Water Procurement Company indicated in December that a planned 700-megawatt power and water desalination plant may need to be fuelled by coal instead of natural gas.
The dramatic transformation is taking place because, for the first time, the Gulf states are beginning to feel the burden of the soaring cost of fossil fuels. In March Dubai introduced an electricity pricing system that increased tariffs for heavy users. The new tariffs apply only to foreign businesses, expatriates and foreign-owned businesses. Emiratis are exempt.
The sudden gas shortage has caught the Gulf states by surprise at a time when demand for power and water desalination is increasing annually at double-digit percentage rates. Investment in infrastructure has lagged behind the region's population expansion and construction boom. Anecdotes abound of apartment complexes left empty because there is not enough capacity in the local electricity grid.
According to Wood Mackenzie, the energy consultancy, the UAE's demand for gas will double within a decade if power consumption continues to grow. Dubai's peak power consumption rose by 15 per cent last year, according to DEWA's statistics.
“Demand for natural gas is rising at 12 per cent per annum. In the summer the UAE is burning liquid fuel [fuel oil and diesel] for peak power generation,†said Peter Barker-Homek, Taqa’s chief executive. “Should there be alternatives [to burning oil], such as coal and nuclear? Probably, yes. If you have a product worth $120 per barrel, you want to sell it. The question about coal is always the environment. It is definitely cheaper than using crude oil.â€Â
Last summer Abu Dhabi's oil output fell by 600,000 barrels per day as natural gas was diverted from injection into oil wells to power stations to meet peak demand for electricity.
The Emirate has substantial reserves of gas but much of this is earmarked for injection into wells to maintain pressure and to improve oil output. With the crude oil price reaching $125 (£64) per barrel, the diversion of gas into local power stations is a huge cost to the country.
Meanwhile, the price of natural gas in the Gulf has soared amid shortages and increased global demand. Local gas resources in the Emirates have dwindled, and Abu Dhabi and Dubai are already importing gas by pipeline from Qatar.
Iran, which holds some of the world’s biggest gas reserves, is another option, but relations between the Western-friendly Emirates and Iran are uneasy. A project led by Dana Gas, a private sector company based in the Middle East, to bring Iranian fuel across the Gulf to Sharjah has been locked in pricing disputes.
In a desperate attempt to avert power and water shortages in the summer, Dubai entered into a 15-year contract with Royal Dutch Shell last month to supply liquefied natural gas in the summer period from 2010. However, this is an expensive fuel, and the Emirates have built their economies on gas at almost nil cost.
From the WSJ last saturday
Beseeching the Saudis
We don't know who advised President Bush to go on bended knee to Saudi Arabia yesterday, to plead with King Abdullah to ramp up oil supply and ease prices at the American gas pump. But about that adviser, our suggestion to the President is: Fire him – or her.
A cardinal rule of presidential diplomacy is never to ask publicly for favors unless you know in advance they will be granted. The same request by Mr. Bush had already been rebuffed by the Saudis during his visit to Riyadh in January. This time around, the Saudi response was particularly blunt and condescending: "If you want more oil, you need to buy it," said Ali al-Naimi, the Saudi oil minister.
This second presidential humiliation comes even as the Administration is defending its decision to sell the House of Saud billions of dollars in advanced weapons, over the increasingly hectic objections of New York Senator Chuck Schumer. The Administration is also proposing to help the Saudis develop civilian nuclear reactors to provide for their energy needs. That may help the Kingdom export more oil by easing its domestic requirements. But we await the explanation for why the world needs another politically unstable Islamic theocracy in possession of radioactive fuel rods.
It isn't clear how much reserve oil-pumping capacity the Saudis have at their disposal. According to Mr. Naimi, they have already increased supply in recent months by 300,000 barrels a day, to 1.7 million, and much of the remaining crude may be difficult to refine. As it is, rising prices are less a reflection of inadequate supply than they are of the dollar's collapse. For proof, look no further than Europe, where gas prices haven't risen nearly as sharply as they have in the U.S.
We never like to see an American President of either party go begging. But if Mr. Bush really needs to beseech a political authority, he'd be better served turning to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, creator of our current commodity-price spike.
Here is the article.
So, the roundabout is:
- Vladimir Putin went from President to Prime Minister.
- Dmitry Medvedev went from chairman of Gazprom, to President.
- Viktor Zubkov went from Prime Minister to chairman of Gazprom.
I ws reading a book about the history of the Cold War, by Walter LaFeber (America, Russia and the Cold War, 1945-2006, McGraw.Hill), saying in 2006 that there was uncertainty how Putin would have changed the electoral rules in 2008 to retain power after his second mandate. Apparently, the new system of power did not make use of such low key solutions.
