Iran is being threatened as it could close the Straight of Hormuz, cutting off the Gulf. Venezuela has the largest reserves outside the Middle East. Through control of world oil the US aims to be in a position to control the policy of any rival such as China, Japan, Europe or Russia.
For some incomprehensible reason we encourage the wasteful use of oil. Huge subsidies are given to oil-dependent industrial agriculture; air travel is free of tax, and the use of road transport is encouraged by the provision of new roads.
Does oil benefit a country? Angola has vast reserves but its people do not benefit. 'Commercial confidentiality' keeps dealings opaque, making corruption inevitable. Oil executives live in an opulent fenced town with no local contact and fly to offshore rigs - a typical arrangement for foreign exploitation of Africa. The government gets so much income from oil that it has little interest in the domestic economy. Luanda, the capital, is the most expensive city in the world after Tokyo yet two-thirds of its people have no access to clean drinking water and Angola languishes at the bottom of the UN Human Development Index.
China's oil imports increased 30% in the first ten months of 2003.
Before the Wells Run Dry
Feasta 2003
