Pepe Escobar HOW PIPELINEISTAN BEATS THE PENTAGON The Pentagon has been practicing for a while a crucial war game called OFFSHORE CONTROL. In a nutshell, it’s about imposing a naval blockade on China. Beijing, of course, is very much aware. Thus the major strategic importance of Pipelineistan. China already imports most of its natural gas via a pipeline from Turkmenistan. And pipelines from Siberia obviously beat being blockaded in the Indian Ocean. China will get an additional 20% of its current (and growing) annual gas needs. And talk about a bargain; paying MUCH less than the LNG it imports from Qatar and Australia. Not to mention MUCH, MUCH LESS if the US EVER built those LNG terminals it needs for exporting gas to the rest of the world (so much for US gas “saving” Europe from Gazprom). Russia, for its part, will develop two crucial gas fields in Siberia, near Lake Baikal - Kovykta and Chayanda – because China is now a top customer. When the new pipelines are online by 2018, Russian gas exports will grow by a whopping 25% in one go. To wrap it up, this will further bring about the intersection of Putin’s Eurasian Economic Union – from Crimea to Harbin – with China’s New Silk Road – from Chongqin to Duisburg in Germany. Checkmate.
Posted on: Thu, 22 May 2014 04:58:09 +0000
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