Energy Security Archives - Page 7 of 11

Oil in China: Reserves, Production and Export Potential

The latest addition to the Chinese ‘enigma’ is its oil potential. There have been various accounts, of late, in influential journals and important documents attempting to unravel the mystery surrounding Chinese oil. As it happens, most of them have helped only to further deepen it.

Turbulent Future Lies Ahead for Global Energy Markets

What are the major trends that will shape the global energy future in the medium to long term, say up to 2030? The authoritative report of the International Energy Agency (IEA) issued in 2007, before the global economic slowdown of 2008–09, had predicted the world's primary energy demand growing by 55 per cent at an average annual rate of 1.8 per cent between 2005 and 2030. This was before the global economic crisis of 2008–09.

India’s Energy Security: Challenges and Opportunities

The eradication of poverty and prosperity depend upon the economic development of a nation which in turn is dependent on an adequate and continuous supply of energy sources. Hence, energy is the lifeline of economic development. The rise of South Asia in general and India in particular as a force on the economic scene is now widely acknowledged. India's growing population and expanding economy with the shift in focus from agriculture to the manufacturing and services sectors have led to an increase in energy intensity which has resulted in an unprecedented demand for energy sources.

The Politics of Nuclear Energy

Nuclear energy, as we know it, was unleashed by nature at Oklo in Gabon, Africa, when uranium formed rings on its mountains billion of years ago. Natural uranium contains at least three per cent uranium. This uranium formed rings around the mountain and acted as fuel rods in a reactor. When rain water was run across the fuel rod, it acted as a reactor. The Oklo phenomenon was discovered only in 1972. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) saw fit to run an international conference on the subject.

Pakistan’s Energy Security: Challenges and Options

Development prospects and economic growth in Pakistan, like in most other countries, will hinge on securing sustainable energy supplies. The Pakistan government has developed a strategy to enhance its energy production by 2030. This article explores the problems faced by the Pakistan government in optimising its use of indigenous energy resources and the implications that future plans to strengthen its energy security may have for its domestic and foreign policy.

Is the Future of Energy Geopolitics in Space?

Let's face the facts: we are not going to regulate our way out of either climate change, or a peaking of fossil fuels. Even if we could imagine that individuals and nations were capable of accepting significant reductions in their lifestyle for long-term self-interest or the interests of their grandchildren, no amount of increased efficiency of those already using energy is going to make up for the Other Three Billion (O3B) citizens of the world moving to developed lifestyles and their accompanying energy demand.

Russia Abandons the ‘Energy Super-Power’ Idea but Lacks Energy for ‘Modernisation’

The energy sector since the mid-2000s has acquired top priority in Russian state affairs, but since late 2008 it has also become the epicentre of the economic disaster that still continues to affect Russia. President Medvedev has effectively discarded the notion of Russia as an 'energy super-power' and is now focusing on 'modernisation' for Russia's development. But coherence of this course is problematic because the bulk of new investments must go into the energy sector in order to sustain the high revenues.

Geopolitics of Energy in West Asia: Competing Foreign Interests and Prospects for Regional Realignment

The article analyses international politics surrounding the Iranian nuclear crisis, and its implications for stakeholders such as the United States and its western allies as well as for emerging market countries including India, China, and Turkey which are especially interested in Iran's energy resources. Given the existence of multiplicity of interests of these countries, often conflicting, the article analyses three possible scenarios of how the Iranian nuclear crisis is likely to be addressed.

The Quest for Nuclear Energy in West Asia: Energy Security or Strategic Necessity

Most of the countries in West Asia have expressed an interest in developing nuclear energy. For them their growing demand of electricity owing to the increasing population, growing industries, their eternal reliance on the desalinated water and environmental protection are the major drivers of their decision to produce nuclear energy. Importantly, they would like to use nuclear energy for domestic consumption and supply oil and gas to earn more revenues.

Energy-Related Border Trade Measures: Can They Lead to Trade Wars?

Following the recent economic crisis, concerns over the revival of trade protectionism have surfaced, with some countries imposing or threatening to impose highly trade-distorting legislation to help their domestic industries compete in world markets, raising the spectre of a potential trade war. This paper looks at the attempts by some of the developed countries to introduce trade measures using the issue of climate change as a Trojan horse, to ensure that they do not lose out to the emerging economies.