China Is Now Iran's Biggest Energy Buyer, Europe Steps Up Oil Activity

[NNN0LHI]

http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=2b7f660f350f30256be82f88e217e7af

Asharq Al Awsat, News Report,
Translated by Jalal Ghazi, Link TV, Mosaic, Jan 20, 2005

Laws ban American companies from investing more than $20 million in Iran annually. However, a lot of other foreign investments are being sent there, and several gigantic projects are being planned to exploit Iranian natural gas, one of the largest reserves in the world. China has become the leader of the pack of energy importers from Iran.

Energy experts have been interested in the economic deals that were signed by China and Iran reaching a total value of $200 billion. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said China will replace Japan as the number one oil and gas importer from Iran. In 2003 Iran’s oil exports to China reached $2.5 billion; the number was higher in 2004.

Iran is estimated to have 26.6 trillion cubic meters of gas reserves, which explains why one the biggest Chinese energy companies, Sinopec, was invited to prepare the planning of a project to develop the gigantic Yadavaran field. The project includes exploration, petrochemical products production and pipeline construction.

In return, Sinopec will import 250 billion tons of gas in the next 25 years worth $70-100 billion. This is the largest economic deal concluded between the two countries since 1996. China is also looking forward to exporting various products to the large Iranian market.

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[oneighty]

1. China will not be denied?

Boy I wonder where this is going.

180

[TahitiNut]

2. $2.5 billion? Only 2% of the $122 billion we dumped on China ...

... for their cheap (in pennies, not in morals) labor. There's no end to the dominoes falling from our lame-assed trade and economic policies.

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. Thanks George Bush!

[VirginiaDem]

4. China's GDP grows at about 8 percent per year

And their energy consumption is already enormous. It is a beast that must be fed. It has been estimated (I have heard) that the negative environmental consequences of all this costs the Chinese economy about 8 percent per year. So their massive growth is being countered by, for example, the health effects of having turned their urbanized areas into poisoned dumps. They are quite possibly the most polluted country on the planet and that is only going to get worse. This may have something to do with the hybrid auto they showcased a couple months ago. They would be much smarter to go that route--try to become the world leader in clean energy rather than just another dirty-fuel sucking behemoth state.

My only qualm with the article is that, unless I am mistaken, Iran has THE largest reserves of natural gas in the world.

[NNN0LHI]

6. Here is what I found digging around. Can't vouch for the accuracy

2003 proved natural gas reserves
(trillion cu ft)


1. Russia 1,700.0
2. Qatar 916.0
3. Iran 913.6
4. Other former USSR 332.1
5. Saudi Arabia 234.6
6. United Arab Emirates 204.1
7. United States 186.9
8. Nigeria 178.5
9. Algeria 170.0
10. Venezuela 149.2

[VirginiaDem]

9. I stand corrected. n/t

[Old and In the Way]

5. That explains why Iran must be attacked.

I'm telling yeah, it's all about controling the oil. He who controls the oil, controls the world.

[dbt]

8. Roger that!

When you figure China into the equations that the Regime has been working since Day One, this Democracy-to-the-Middle-East crusade begins to make a whole lot of twisted sense!

Can't you just smell the Evil?

:freak:
dbt

[MADem]

7. Screw with Iran, screw with China

...it will end BADLY. If the chimp had a strategic brain in his head, he'd go in and "save" Saudi Arabia from the extremists who are working under deep cover to undermine the "democracy-supporting, for other folks, mind you, not themselves" Saudi regime.

Easier to isolate the oil assets, no standing army to speak of (save the US military, which provides for their defense) and they'd have little to say about it. And no one really likes the Saudis, anyway, even though they do claim the (some say very UNearned) title of Guardian of the Holy Places.

Then, weecowboy can pump that place dry. May as well, he's pissed off the entire world anyway...

[bobthedrummer]

10. The Chinese want to buy Unocal too.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4154563.stm