Today’s FT reports (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/72e2cbb6-919d-11de-879d-00144feabdc0.html) that a Korean-led consortium developing a gas field off Burma’s coast will ”invest billions of dollars in a project to supply gas to China over 30 years, including a controversial plan to build a supply pipeline between the countries.”  This development follows closely on China’s $41 billion deal to buy natural gas from Australia.

In this case, the pipeline would bring product directly from the Burmese coast while bypassing the Straits of Malacca and Lombok/Makkassar.  As the FT writes, “China is particularly worried about the strategic vulnerability of the two narrow straits, which are the current route for more than 60 per cent of China’s oil imports.”

The pursuit of energy security by rapidly developing Asian countries is also highlighted by a recent announcement from the Indian government that it was planning to build for Iran a 5,000 megawatt natural gas-fired power plant — that’s an astoundingly large capacity factor for a natural gas plant, but it’s designed to take advantage of the astoundingly large South Pars field — rated at 500 trillion cubic feet of gas in place.

Authoritarian governments with deep pockets and clarity of vision about the importance of energy security are slowly locking in what will be a huge competitive advantage in the 21st century.  The U.S. can’t afford to be left behind.

Previous Post  

Next Post

Iran’s Desperation Increases
May 18, 2012

Diplomatic Council Launch and Release of Oil and the Trade Deficit
May 17, 2012

Increased domestic production = increased energy security
May 16, 2012