America’s “golden age” might lead to “energy colonialism”?
By Andrew Korybko
Igor
Sechin, the CEO of Rosneft and one of the most powerful people in Russia, isn’t
jumping on the Alt-Media bandwagon of speculating about America’s supposedly
imminent demise but is instead warning that it might actually be about to enter
a “golden age”, albeit one that could very easily lead to “energy colonialism”
all across the world.
It’s been
fashionable since the invention of the internet for people to speculate about
America’s supposedly imminent demise, especially since the economic crisis of
the last decade and the visible return of Great Power competition with Russia
and China, but one of the most powerful people in Moscow isn’t jumping on the
Alt-Mediabandwagon but is instead bucking the trend of talking about this
wishful thinking doom-andgloom scenario.
Igor
Sechin, the CEO of Rosneft, actually thinks that America might be at the dawn
of a “golden age’, albeit one that could very easily lead to “energy
colonialism” all across the world. Speaking at the Saint Petersburg
International Economic Forum (SPIEF), he warned that: “America’s ‘Golden Age’
can turn into the age of energy colonialism for other participants of the
market. Should global energy consumers become hostage to non-stop election
campaign in the US?
The reality
of the current situation is that the US vastly uses energy as a political
weapon. The imposition of sanctions or the threat of their implementation has a
devastating impact on the ecosystem of the global energy market.” A lot of
strategic insight about the Kremlin’s true outlook on international affairs can
be extrapolated from the above passage.
Firstly,
Russia recognizes that the US might be about to enter a “golden age” because of
its new energy superpower status as the world’s top oil and natural gas
producer, which directly threatens Russia’s national security because of its
budgetary dependence on these exports. Unable to influence this trend, Russia
can only resort to getting the US’ potential customers to question its
geopolitical motives exactly as Washington did vis-a-vis Moscow since the turn
of the century. Furthermore, Russia tacitly acknowledges that the US’ primary
and secondary sanctions (and threats thereof) powerfully affect the global
energy market.
All of this
goes flies in the face of the conventional narrative propagated by the
Alt-Media Community alleging that America is on the “cusp of collapse” and just
a short time away from “bankruptcy”, yet those predictions have just been
discredited by one of the most powerful men in Russia who basically argues that
America’s upcoming energy-driven “Golden Age” might lead to it becoming a
bigger bully than ever before.
That’s a
far cry away from what many people on the internet have been indoctrinated to
expect, but his words are more credible that the many op-eds in Alt-Media
precisely because of who he is and what he represents. Objectively speaking,
Sechin’s statement should be taken much more seriously than the words of a
little-known blogger.
Going
forward, Russia seems to realize that it might not be able to compete with the
US in this sphere if future technologies lower the cost of its rival’s LNG
exports. On top of that, apart from a few exceptions such as Germany, the US
has firm control over all aspects of its NATO vassals’ energy policies, making
it even more difficult for it to counter the pressure being placed on it.
Although
Russia could redirect the bulk of its exports to China, India, and other rising
Asian powers, it’ll still face fierce competition from the US and its GCC
allies. Whichever way one looks at it, the prognosis is becoming progressively
grimmer, and the odds of the US exploiting Russia’s severe systemic
vulnerabilities in pursuit of a lopsided “New Detente” with it are increasing
by the day.
Andrew
Korybko is an American Moscow-based political analyst specializing in the
relationship between the US strategy in Afro-Eurasia, China’s One Belt One Road
global vision of New Silk Road connectivity, and Hybrid Warfare. He is a
frequent contributor to Global Research.
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