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BASIR AHMED (WestAsian and African Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi,110067) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left for StPetersburg later this week to attend the G-8 Summit of industrialized nationswith a heavy agenda that includes meetings with Russian President VladimirPutin and US President George W Bush. Indian Prime Minister also held talkswith some of the other leaders of the G8 that comprises Britain, Japan, France,Germany, Italy and Canada, besides the US and Russia, on the sidelines of theJuly 15-17 Summit on Global Energy Security. Concerns regarding Indias energyand energy supplies was the major issue of his talks. In the context of rising oil prices and marketinstability, the focus of the meeting largely remained around Indias energysecurity. The sense of urgency was quiet evident, India felt that more shouldbe done to deal with the growing domestic energy demand and sustain supplysecurity. India's search for energy security has assumed challengingdimensions. In the broad framework of India's approach towards its regionalneighbours like Russia, New Delhi explored the prospects of energy cooperation.Its bilateral relations with G-8 countries including Russia is by and largecordial and cooperative. It has adopted innovative market strategies to harnesson the changing world energy space and the discovered energy potential of newareas. New Delhi also tried to prod Moscow on giving oil and Natural GasCorporation a stake in the major Russian oilfields. India said that, it isprepared to invest in developing oilfields in Russia that will give India oneMillion Barrels of crude per day. Russia, that holds the presidency of the G-8, hasalready placed global energy security high on the agenda. In a message postedon the official G-8 website, President Putin said, this year we plan to urgeour partners to redouble efforts to ensure global energy security. We believethat today, it is crucial to find a solution to a problem, which directlyinfluences the social and economic developments of all countries withoutexception. The initiatives to hold trilateral meeting on the sidelines of G-8Summit, is understood to have come from Russia, which is trying to positionitself as a bridge between the Western world and the developingcountries. Indias participation in the G-8 Summit at St.Petersburg reflects an effort to check the mounting domestic energy challenge.New Delhi availed this meeting as an opportunity for consultation on energysecurity issues, along with terrorism and stability in Central Asia. India alsoexplored the potential areas for trilateral cooperation between India, Chinaand Russia especially in the changing context of emerging energy markets inAsia. All the three parties agreed that, the efforts towards attaining energysufficiency should be comprehensive and should stimulate stabilization of theglobal energy markets, development of innovation technologies, and use ofrenewable energy sources and protection of the environment. The trilateral meeting between India, Russiaand China on the sidelines of G-8 Summit reflects the efforts to extract theenergy market from the Western monopoly. Attempts were also being made tocounter balance the unipolar world with a more decentralized multilateralsystem. The trilateral dialogue states that, there are big powers outside theregion that has important stakes in the growing Energy Security challenges. Howto secure stable and sufficient supplies of oil in an era of increasedterrorist threat to energy infrastructure? Emerged as a major issue of concernin the meeting. India and China have been witnessing a steadyincrease in their energy consumption for over many years. Increasing economicgrowth characterized by high industrial activity has been the main reasonbehind it. Though consumption of coal accounts for a major share of the totalenergy use, imported petroleum takes an irreplaceable position in the energymix of both countries. China's growth in oil consumption is now running closeto 8 percent a year and, as a result, that country is now a major importer.Meanwhile, India, as the world's second-most-populous country, is alsoexperiencing year-over-year consumption growth in excess of 8 percent. Hence,the key energy-related issues for these two countries are increasing energydependency on imported oil, securities of energy supplies, and at affordablecost. India and China increasingly looks toward Russia for securities of theirenergy supplies. Russian energy has the capacity to feed India and China forthe next several years. If India and China succeed in securing longterm energy supplies through Russia, the whole South East Asia stands to gain.It will mean the continuation of the sizzling growth that has benefited thewhole region. The recent participation of both these countries in St.Petersburg is the latest signal that geo-economics of energy is gaining overgeopolitics of the region. India and China plan to sign pacts in the comingmonths for oil and gas projects in Russia. The geographical proximity of Russiaand remoteness from the Persian Gulf energy geopolitics makes it moreattractive destination for the import dependent countries in the Asian region.Indias ONGC has a 20% stake in exploration and development of the Sakhalin-Ioil and gas field (in Russia), which has total recoverable reserves of 2.3 bnbarrels of oil and 17 trillion cu ft of natural gas. Chinas energy strategyincludes outmaneuvering other competitors from the region, especially India andJapan. Chinas $6 bn loan offer to Rosneft, its growing arms import from Russia,is a part of a larger strategy of cementing energy relations with Russia andkeeping other competitors at bay. However, cooperation with China in jointlybidding for energy exports and increasing investments in Siberian and Sakhalinoil assets is certainly a good indication. Russia will have a considerable importance inIndias evolving energy calculus in the coming years, especially in the contextof oil and gas imports. Apart from the stake in exploration and development inSakhalin-I, India is keen to be involved in the Sakhalin-III project, operatedby Royal Dutch Shell PLC and also to get a 20% stake in Yuganskneftgaz, asubsidiary of the now-expropriated Yukos oil company. India needs to take care of the following dimensionsin considering energy import from Russia. First, Indias long-term energyinterest in Russia, especially in the context of souring relations with Iranand growing instability in the West Asian region, Russia has come to holds astrategic importance, which shall continue over a period of time. Second, isthe factor of Chinese competition in acquiring overseas energy. Irrespective ofthe fact that, China in principle supports joint bidding in oil and gasprojects with India in Russia and around the world, its growing competitionwith India is a reality. For instance, India, was keen to import natural gasfrom Sakhalin, witnessed the heat of Chinese competition when the Russian oilcompany, Rosneft, asked it to make a commercially superior bid to the Chineseone to be considered for the export. Hence, India must frame its energy policykeeping in view the growing competition coming form China. Finally, Chinasenergy strategy. Up till now China has displayed an aggressive energy policy.Its involvement in developing Gwadar Port on Pakistan's southwestern Makrancoast of Balochistan, building Karakoram highway to bring oil and gas by roadinto western China. Its involvement in Myanmar to gain direct land access tothe Southeast Asian nations and the Andaman Sea, in Angola, in Ecuador etc.indicates that India should tread cautiously. In this phase of rapideconomic growth, the countries agreed that, they must deal with energy in theframework of a global partnership for sustainable economic development.Attempts were also made to find ways to improve the functioning of theoil and gas markets, facilitate energy transportation, promote dialogue betweenproducers, consumers, and transit countries, accelerate the transition towardsa post-oil era, and help the developing countries to move towards anecologically responsible economic growth. Global threat requires globalresponses. It would be difficult to find a solution to the energy insecurity ifdifferent nations go on their own way, or go for unilateral and partialsolutions. The world remains under the threat from supply disruptions. Hencethe imperative for partnership in energy is even more today. Uninterrupted, sufficient, reliable, and securesupply of energy at prices reflecting economic fundamentals and marketprinciples is one of the key development factors of the all national economies.There is a direct relationship between economic well being, way and quality oflife and secure access to energy. The system of energy supply and demand hasbecome truly global. This requires the strengthening of partnership betweenproducing and consuming countries through continuous and constructive dialoguewith common objective to ensure global energy security. Energy security shouldbe pursued consistent with achieving the common developmental goals. It shouldaim at promoting adequate and reliable long term oil and gas supply to globalmarkets, increasing energy efficiency both on the supply and demand side,improving environment, diversifying energy supply and demand mix. |