Saudi Arabia pivots toward Asia By Peter Lee for Asia Times

[Douglas Carpenter]

a somewhat long article with a sophisticated understanding of the shift of power at work in the region..One must read the article in full:

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/NA21Ak03.html

some interesting snips:

BP's most recent energy outlook report predicts that the United States will become almost self-sufficient in energy by 2030, thanks to exploitation of its shale oil and gas resources.
..
Specifically, the geopolitical implication is that, if the United States does not need the Middle East for energy security, it will lose much of its motivation to meddle in the region, at least in the immense nation-destroying, budget-busting tradition of the Iraq wars.

..

Maybe, just maybe, the United States will wash its hands of the intractable Middle East and sail on to Asia in a search for the 21st century heart of wealth and power. That's bad news for Israel and for Saudi Arabia, both of whom rely on United States backing to buttress their shaky fortunes in the region ... fortunes that have become more perilous with the advent of the Arab Spring, and the evaporation of local authoritarian and/or pro-US regimes that were quite happy to coexist with Israeli high-handedness and narrow Saudi autocracy.

,,,


Saudi Arabia, an autocracy that serves as the defender of a religion politically toxic in the United States - and, as the BP report indicates, facing displacement from the center of US economic and energy concerns - has to think about Plan B. Plan B is Asia: India, China, South Korea and Japan.

China is perhaps already Saudi Arabia's largest customer, taking 1 million barrels per day (bpd - one-fifth of its requirement) and currently making up for the demand shortfall from economically straitened Europe. How China's surging demand and Saudi Arabia's maturing oil and gas industry will complement each other is a fraught and interesting question.


.

This article is a bit too detailed and complicated and copyright requirements don't allow me to post much more - but for those who are interested in a more advanced understanding of the shifts of influence - I strongly recommend reading this article in full.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/NA21Ak03.html

[Mojorabbit]

1. I worry we will cause irreparable damage doing all this fracking. nt