Russia is definitely becoming -again- a major global player. Some months ago they inked with China the first mass Chinese investments to develop Siberia in several fronts. Mostly transportation through very- high-speed railways network reaching its East coast and development and trnsportation of gas and oil industry through pipelines and new oil fields.
Hopefully, cooperation will prevail on confrontation and economic force will prevail on military force across the globe. Peace and best wishes. Xi On 6 ene, 07:53, "Sumerian.." <[email protected]> wrote: > http://www.thetrumpet.com/index. php?q=6872. 5382.0.0 > > How Russia Is About to Dramatically Change the World > > January 5, 2010 | From theTrumpet.com > > In a remote corner of the world, a port bristles with cranes, smokestacks, > mammoth ships—and trouble for Europe. > > ROBERT MORLEY > > Over > the next few days, Russia will change the world. It has completed a new > oil pipeline and port complex that sets Russia up to become a more > powerful oil exporter than Saudi Arabia. The ramifications for Europe > and Asia are profound: The shape of the global economy—and the global > balance of power—will be altered forever. > > December 28 was a big day of ceremony in Russia. Prime Minister > Vladimir Putin pushed a button that transformed global oil > dynamics—especially for Asia and Europe. The button released thousands > of barrels of Siberian crude into a waiting Russian supertanker and > heralded the opening of Russia’s first modern Pacific-based oil export > facilities. > > The multibillion- dollar, state-of-the- art oil terminal was a “great > New Year present for Russia,” Putin said during the inauguration. The > strategic terminal, located in the city of Kozmino on the coast of the > Sea of Japan, is one of the “biggest projects in contemporary Russia” > he said, not only in “modern Russia, but the former Soviet Union too.” > > Putin has every right to be enthusiastic about his new port. Kozmino > will unlock a two-way gate through which Russia’s vast Siberian > oilfields will gush into Asia’s energy-hungry economies—and Chinese, > Korean and Japanese currency will flow into Russia. > > If just the seven ships currently waiting to berth are all filled > during January, the port of Kozmino will instantly become Russia’s > third-most important oil outlet. > > According to Reuters, the first oil transport > loads on January 15. In a symbolic move highlighting Russia’s warming > relationship with China, Hong Kong will receive the first shipment. > > After that, Kozmino’s importance will exponentially grow over the next > year. Currently, all Siberian oil shipments into Kozmino are delivered > by train—but that will soon change. Phase one of the East > Siberian-Pacific Ocean Pipeline (espo) was also completed during > December. Phase two will soon connect the Siberian fields directly to > the new port. When phase two is finished in 2012, total exports could > jump from the current rate of 250,000 barrels per day to over 1 million. > Kozmino will transform into one of the largest oil centers in the > world—capable of handling 16 percent of total Russian oil exports. It > will be one of the most strategic geopolitical assets in Russia’s > arsenal. > > Russia pumped more than 10 million barrels of oil per day during > November. With Saudi Arabian production falling, Russia is now the > world’s largest oil exporter. Toss in Russia’s natural gas exports, and > Russia is the biggest energy superpower in the world, by far. That does > not even count Russia’s massive uranium resources and nuclear expertise. > > But here is why the new port in Kozmino could radically affect the > future of both Asia and Europe. For over a century, Russia’s entire > energy infrastructure has focused mainly on supplying Europe. That has > now changed forever! > > The first and now-complete phase of the espo pipeline, which connects > Russia’s Siberian oil fields to China, is already destabilizing global > oil dynamics and shifting them in Russia’s direction. “espo is what > political strategists might call a ‘game-changer,’” writes the Telegraph. “It > means that Russia will be able to send its oil either east or west—so it can > drive a harder bargain when selling crude to Europe” (emphasis mine > throughout). > > Previously, when Russia has had pricing disputes with Europe, Moscow > had to play the embargo card with an obvious bluff. It had no other > alternative outlet for its oil. Without the Europeans, its oil would > sit in Samotlor and Tyanskoye, costing money instead of making it. But > now Moscow can turn off the tap to Europe and still pump in the profits > by opening the pipe wide to its energy-hungry Asian partners. > > But Russia’s stranglehold on Europe is about to get even tighter—much > tighter. By 2012, the espo pipeline will be twinned with a pipeline for > natural gas exports so Russian gas supplies can also flow east instead > of west if necessary. > > This development is truly scary to Europeans. > > Moscow has already demonstrated that it isn’t afraid to > turn off Europe’s energy supplies when it feels it needs to. In the > middle of winter 2006, Russia shut off gas supplies to Germany, and > several other countries, in order to punish Ukraine. Since then, it has > repeatedly used the same method to strong-arm its former Eastern > European satellites back into accepting Russian dominance. > > The message is clear: Russian oil and gas supplies are a weapon to be used—or > not used—to freeze opponents into submission. > > Europe, in a tenuous relationship with Russia to begin with, > desperately needs to secure another source of energy. Only one other > region in the world can supply the energy to warm and lubricate modern > Europe’s homes and industries: the Middle East. Countries like Germany, > which imports 90 percent of its oil, are now much more dependent on one > of the most volatile regions of the world for power supplies. > > It is inevitable that Berlin will seek to expand its ties with oil-rich > Gulf Cooperation Council members: the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, > Bahrain and especially Saudi Arabia, the world’s second-largest > petroleum producer. Europe has no choice but to become much more > intimately involved with the affairs of the Middle East—a region from > which 40 percent of its oil is currently derived. > > It is therefore no surprise that Germany, the most dominant nation in > Europe, has made sure it has troops on the ground surrounding this > Middle Eastern “golden triangle” of energy production (Gulf Cooperation > Council members plus Iran and Iraq). On the seas, the European Union’s > naval presence is growing too. The European anti-piracy task force > operates in both the Gulf of Oman and the Gulf of Aden. Forty percent > of the world’s ocean-borne oil is shipped through the Gulf of Oman. > > Europe is critically dependent on imported oil. And Germany knows it > must have a strong presence in the world’s most oil-rich region if it > is to secure its flow and the country’s future. > > The Bible predicts that a major military clash will soon occur in the > Middle East—specifically between a European power, led by Germany, and > radical Islam, led by Iran. > > Daniel 11:40-45 indicate that Iran will continue to push at this > European power until it finally responds in “whirlwind,” > blitzkrieg-type fashion. As we have explained for > almost 20 years—and has been borne out repeatedly in real-world > events—the “king of the south” spoken of in these verses is radical > Islam under the leadership of Iran. And as Trumpet editor in chief Gerald > Flurry has written, a big part of Iran’s push against Europe will involve oil. > > The Middle East is a powder keg that could explode at any time. Syria > dominates Lebanon and is stirring up trouble there. Iran is about to > create a nuclear weapon and has said it wants to wipe Israel off the > map. It is test firing missiles that can strike European capitals. > Israel knows that the window to prevent Iran from getting the bomb is > closing. Hamas is preparing to violently take East Jerusalem as a > Palestinian capital. Israel is about to release 1,000 terrorists back > onto the streets in return for one captured Israeli soldier. > > And to top it off, the world is in the midst of its worst depression > since the 1930s. Oil prices remain above $70 per barrel, and the > International Energy Agency has indicated that world oil production > will now peak in 2020—10 years sooner than prior estimates. Some > analysts think the world has already reached peak oil production. > > In this climate of global instability, Russia’s recent moves on the > world’s oil stage will be amplified in dramatic fashion. By unlocking > Siberia’s energy reserves, Russia is simultaneously binding Asia > together and lighting a fire under Europe. Watch for the development of an > Asian alliance between Russia, China and Japan. And watch for Europe’s next > moves toward the Middle East. • > > ======= > S1000+ > ======= > > --- On Tue, 1/5/10, Kris Millegan <[email protected]> wrote:
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