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Chinaâs desperate quest for Russian oil in doubt after arrest of Putin rival
From Geostrategy-Direct...The arrest of Russian oil executive Mikhail Khodorkovsky has thrown into question a Russian-Chinese oil deal that calls for piping crude oil from Siberia to Beijing. The pipeline is the current focus of a covert political and economic battle for energy resources. The battle is being waged by China and Japan over the Angarsk oil fields near Lake Baikal in eastern Siberia. The Chinese are desperate to get the Angarsk oil because of their growing need for fuel, which some experts view as reaching near-crisis proportions. Japan, however, is vying for the Angarsk oil and has offered Russia financial incentives to build the pipeline due east of Angarsk and closer to Japan. China reached a deal with Khodorkovskyâs Yukos oil company to build the pipeline along a route 1,500 miles to China. Intelligence sources said Khodorkovskyâs arrest was related to Russian President Vladimir Putinâs concerns that Khodorkovsky or a surrogate would challenge Putin for political office. The Japanese pipeline project would go 500 miles to the Pacific Ocean, where it would be closer to Japan and other world markets. Oil industry analysts say there is not enough oil at Angarsk to meet the needs of both China and Japan. Japan is looking for an alternate and more stable source of oil that its current middle eastern sources. Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-11-05 |
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