A Russian-American pipe dream (US replaces ME oil with Russian)

[papau]

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3340375/


A Russian-American pipe dream
In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, the United States is shifting toward Russia — and away from the volatile Middle East — in its search for a steady oil supply. By Preston Mendenhall.

Volatile Mideast oil supply shifts U.S. focus toward Moscow
By Preston Mendenhall MSNBC

MURMANSK, Russia, Nov. 8, 2002 - Surveying the Arctic reaches of this shabby port city, Yuri Yevdokimovâ's enthusiasm is irrepressible. The regional governor vividly recalls the Nazi advance on Murmansk during World War II when American ships delivered lend-lease war materiel to Russia through this frozen gateway. Lend-lease was a pipeline of goods key to Russia's survival. Today, Washington is looking to forge a relationship with Moscow based on a new pipeline, this time carrying oil. Sixty years after America's lend- lease program, Yevdokimov says,Murmansk is ready to return the favor.

With its decaying naval fleet, crippled fishing industry and frigid polar nights, this isolated northern Russian port has seen its younger generation flee the region in search of opportunity elsewhere for more than a decade now. That may soon change. In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, Murmansk could become a key transit point for Russian oil destined for the United States, oil free of the political price tag attached to Middle East petrol.

Last month, President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin brought together top oil executives from both countries to meet in the U.S. oil capital, Houston, whose gleaming coastal skyscrapers stand in dramatic contrast to the drab Soviet-era structures dominating Murmansk's skyline. One oil executive attending the energy summit said the potentates of American and Russian oil politely listened to speeches, then quickly retreated to their hotel suites to negotiate the beginnings of real deals — like the Murmansk deep-sea port.

Some Russian oil companies aren't even waiting for the pipeline, which would bring down the cost of getting Kremlin crude to the United States. The Tyumen Oil Co., Russia's fourth-largest, has even proposed that the United States use Russian oil to replenish its strategic oil reserve. Yukos, another Russian oil firm, has started delivering tanker loads of crude to the Texas Gulf Coast. With a Murmansk pipeline not yet in place, the possible mega deals are still in their infancy but the potential for a fundamental economic realignment is clear.<snip>

[La_Serpiente]

1. Also

Central Asia. Countries like Azberjistan and Georgia that border the Caspain Sea. They are building an oil pipeline connecting the two countries.

Heard that the US has an interest in Kazakistan as well.

[kalian]

2. Hmm....

Now, this begs the question: is the US going to become DEPENDENT on
Russian oil...? Wouldn't that be ironic.... :eyes:

[teryang]

3. I favor the technicolored slick on the Gulf

...and the air polution in Houston myself.

[Dissenting_Prole]

4. Can you say "elasticity"?

Could it be that Russia is a quick, convenient replacement if Middle East supply is cut off? In a post-oil-peak world there is very little room for elasticity in the supply chain. It likely takes two weeks to get oil from Russia to the US, whereas it takes six weeks from the Miidle East. The US is going to need alternate suppies, no matter how minor, when the contest for fossil fuels gets nasty.

Barry Silverthorn
Documentary Producer
The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream

[Kolesar]

5. Russian or Caspian Oil Reserves are Small Compared to the Persian Gulf

We cannot shift from Saudi and other Persian Gulf suppliers to Russian supplies.

I am struck by the irony of Murmansk becoming an ice-free port due to global warming, thus further enabling more fossil resource consumption.