Putin蘑菇视频 Syrian and ISIS policy fueled by natural gas
Normally, this column is written to educate readers about facts and concepts relating to mineral rights and the natural gas industry 鈥� with emphasis on the Marcellus and Utica shales. But in this month蘑菇视频 column, I鈥檓 diverting from the usual topics to discuss Russia蘑菇视频 entry into Syria under the leadership of Vladimir Putin. What does that have to do with natural gas, you may be wondering? My answer: Everything!
Most people tend to view the world through the lens of what they know and do, and I鈥檓 no exception. Much of my time is spent working on natural gas issues, and although I am certainly not an expert on foreign policy, Russia or the Middle East, I do know a bit about natural gas.
In his televised interview with CBS蘑菇视频 Charlie Rose, Putin repeatedly said that Russia is positioning to fight ISIS and the best way to do that is to support the 鈥渓egitimate鈥� Syrian government under the leadership of President Assad.
It is the U.S. position that Assad must be ousted.
Russia sent planes and military assistance to Syria and the U.S. and its European allies are essentially freaking out that Russia entered the fray 鈥� especially on the side of Assad. Experts are attempting to rationalize why Putin made this move, and complain that he is destabilizing the region and making things worse; they point to the massive migration from the region to Europe, and the experts claim that Putin蘑菇视频 actions will only cause increasing chaos. I find it most interesting that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu went to Russia to meet with Putin a few weeks ago. The trip was not well covered in the U.S. media and the public does not know what was said.
Is Putin, who is a former KGB officer, yearning for the old Soviet Union? Is he trying to turn back the clock to the pre-Reagan Cold War era? Many people are thinking that 鈥� but I don鈥檛.
Putin, in my opinion, is taking an assertive stance because Russia蘑菇视频 economy is largely based on the sale of natural gas. Last winter, Putin used natural gas as leverage against European countries that desperately needed natural gas to stay warm during the cold harsh winter. It is well known by economists that Russia蘑菇视频 economy is built on the assumption that oil prices would never drop to below $50 per barrel. In the last month, oil prices have dropped into the low $40 level and as of this writing, prices are at $47 per barrel. And the winter season is upon us. Russia蘑菇视频 successful exporting of natural gas is dependent on higher oil prices.
The Saudi government, which controls the largest oil reserves in the world, has allowed the world to be flooded by oil, which is causing oil prices worldwide to plummet, which is hurting many countries and economies throughout the world. In my opinion (which admittedly is an over-simplification), one of Saudi Arabia蘑菇视频 goals is to slow down or cripple the growth of the natural gas industry, which is a worthy competitor to oil. The growth of the U.S. natural gas industry has slowed as a result of low oil prices.
In my opinion, Putin has become aggressive to save his county蘑菇视频 economy. In his Charlie Rose interview, Putin made it clear that putting Russian troops on the ground is not his first choice 鈥� though it remains an option. In order to keep Russia solvent Putin is taking advantage of the same power vacuum that ISIS is taking advantage of 鈥� except Putin is entering the region for one primary reason 鈥� to destabilize the Middle East so that oil prices will rise. Higher oil prices will make natural gas more valuable.
If you view the events in Syria through the lens of natural gas, Putin蘑菇视频 actions make sense. While Putin蘑菇视频 goal is to destabilize the region so the price of oil goes up, he must publicly state that he is fighting ISIS. But the reality is, he can鈥檛 say anything else, otherwise Russia would be shut out of the international banking system. It is U.S. policy that any country that supports rogue governments or terrorist organizations cannot be part of the global banking system, which the U.S. currently controls because the world economies are generally based on the U.S. dollar. So Putin is forced to take an adversary position to destabilize the region by saying he is fighting terrorism while he is supporting the 鈥渓egitimate鈥� Syrian government. He has out-maneuvered the U.S. and our allies to destabilize the region to cause the price of oil to rise so Russia can once again export its natural gas to Europe.
So I repeat my initial question: What does natural gas have to do with Russia supporting the Syrian regime? Everything!
The U.S. must adopt the political will to develop natural gas so that we are not energy dependent on the rest of the world. Plus, we need to increase the exportation of natural gas which will further reduce our trade deficit. Proper incentives must be legislated to entice American businesses and individuals to convert to natural gas so we can transition from all foreign energy sources. And now is the perfect time to do this while oil prices are artificially low. We as a nation need to make this our highest priority so that we no longer need to be reactive to the strategies of foreign governments or be forced to react to inevitable global catastrophic events.
David Pearl is vice president of Infinity Resource Group, Inc., a professional mineral rights consulting firm, specializing in the leasing and sale of mineral rights in PA, WV and OH. He is also managing director of a natural gas fuel dispensing patent holding company and director of a natural gas fuel island development company. Your questions are welcomed by calling 412-535-9200 or by emailing IRGOilGas@gmail.com.