"Operation Libya" And The Battle For Oil: Redrawing The Map Of Africa
15 March 2011By Prof Michel
Chossudovsky
Insurrection and Military Intervention: The US-NATO
Attempted Coup D'Etat in Libya?
The geopolitical and economic implications of a
US-NATO led military intervention directed against
Libya are far-reaching.
Libya is among the World's largest oil economies with
approximately 3.5% of global oil reserves, more than
twice those of the US.
"Operation Libya" is part of the broader military
agenda in the Middle East and Central Asia which
consists in gaining control and corporate ownership
over more than sixty percent of the world's reserves
of oil and natural gas, including oil and gas pipeline
routes.
"Muslim countries including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran,
Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Yemen, Libya,
Egypt, Nigeria, Algeria, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan,
Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, possess between 66.2 and
75.9 percent of total oil reserves, depending on the
source and methodology of the estimate." (See Michel
Chossudovsky, The "Demonization" of Muslims and the
Battle for Oil, Global Research, January 4, 2007) .
With 46.5 billion barrels of proven reserves, (10
times those of Egypt), Libya is the largest oil
economy in the African continent followed by Nigeria
and Algeria (Oil and Gas Journal). In contrast, US
proven oil reserves are of the order of 20.6 billion
barrels (December 2008) according to the Energy
Information Administration. U.S. Crude Oil, Natural
Gas, and Natural Gas Liquids Reserves)
Oil is the "Trophy" of US-NATO led Wars
Note
The most recent estimates place Libya's oil reserves
at 60 billion barrels. Its gas reserves at 1,500
billion m3. Its production has been between 1.3 and
1.7 million barrels a day, well below its productive
capacity. Its longer term objective is three million
b/d and a gas production of 2,600 million cubic feet a
day, according to figures of the National Oil
Corporation (NOC).
The (alternative) BP Statistical Energy Survey (2008)
places Libya's proven oil reserves at 41.464 billion
barrels at the end of 2007 which represents 3.34 % of
the world's proven reserves. (Mbendi Oil and Gas in
Libya - Overview).
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An invasion of Libya under a humanitarian mandate
would serve the same corporate interests as the 2003
invasion and occupation of Iraq. The underlying
objective is to take possession of Libya's oil
reserves, destabilize the National Oil Corporation (NOC)
and eventually privatize the country's oil industry,
namely transfer the control and ownership of Libya's
oil wealth into foreign hands.
The National Oil Corporation (NOC) is ranked 25 among
the world's Top 100 Oil Companies. (The Energy
Intelligence ranks NOC 25 among the world's Top 100
companies. - Libyaonline.com)
The planned invasion of Libya, which is already
underway is part of the broader "Battle for Oil".
Close to 80 percent of Libya's oil reserves are
located in the Sirte Gulf basin of Eastern Libya. (See
map below)
Libya is a Prize Economy. "War is good for business".
Oil is the trophy of US-NATO led wars.
Wall Street, the Anglo-American oil giants, the US-EU
weapons producers would be the unspoken beneficiaries
of a US-NATO led military campaign directed against
Libya.
Libyan oil is a bonanza for the Anglo-American oil
giants. While the market value of crude oil is
currently well in excess of 100 dollars a barrel, the
cost of Libyan oil is extremely low, as low as $1.00 a
barrel (according to one estimate). As one oil market
expert commented somewhat cryptically:
"At $110 on the world market, the simple math gives
Libya a $109 profit margin." (Libya Oil, Libya Oil One
Country's $109 Profit on $110 Oil,
EnergyandCapital.com March 12, 2008)
Foreign Oil Interests in Libya
Foreign oil companies operating prior to the
insurrection in Libya include France's Total, Italy's
ENI, The China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), British
Petroleum, the Spanish Oil consortium REPSOL,
ExxonMobil, Chevron, Occidental Petroleum, Hess,
Conoco Phillips.
Of significance, China plays a central role in the
Libyan oil industry. The China National Petroleum Corp
(CNPC) had a workforce of some 400 employees. The
total Chinese workforce in Libya was of the order of
30,000.
Eleven percent (11%) of Libyan oil exports are
channelled to China. While there are no figures on the
size and importance of CNPC's production and
exploration activities, there are indications that
they are sizeable.
More generally, China's presence in North Africa is
considered by Washington to constitute an intrusion.
From a geopolitical standpoint, China is an
encroachment. The military campaign directed against
Libya is intent upon excluding China from North
Africa.
Also of importance is the role of Italy. ENI, the
Italian oil consortium puts out 244,000 barrels of gas
and oil, which represents almost 25 percent of Libya's
total exports. ( Sky News: Foreign oil firms halt
Libyan operations, February 23, 2011).
Among US companies in Libya, Chevron and Occidental
Petroleum (Oxy) decided barely 6 months ago (October
2010) not to renew their oil and gas exploration
licenses in Libya. (Why are Chevron and Oxy leaving
Libya?: Voice of Russia, October 6, 2010). In
contrast, in November 2010, Germany's oil company, R.W.
DIA E signed a far-reaching agreement with Libya's
National Oil Corporation (NOC) involving exploration
and production sharing. AfricaNews - Libya: German oil
firm signs prospecting deal - The AfricaNews,
The financial stakes as well as "the spoils of war"
are extremely high. The military operation is intent
upon dismantling Libya's financial institutions as
well as confiscating billions of dollars of Libyan
financial assets deposited in Western banks.
It should be emphasised that Libya's military
capabilities, including its air defense system are
weak.
Libya Oil Concessions
Redrawing the Map of Africa
Libya has the largest oil reserves in Africa. The
objective of US-NATO interference is strategic: it
consists in outright theft, in stealing the nation's
oil wealth under the disguise of a humanitarian
intervention.
This military operation is intent upon establishing US
hegemony in North Africa, a region historically
dominated by France and to lesser extent by Italy and
Spain.
With regard to Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria,
Washington's design is to weaken the political links
of these countries to France and push for the
installation of new political regimes which have a
close rapport with the US. This weakening of France is
part of a US imperial design. It is a historical
process which goes back to the wars in Indochina.
US-NATO intervention leading to the eventual formation
of a US puppet regime is also intent upon excluding
China from the region and edging out China's National
Petroleum Corp (CNPC). The Anglo-American oil giants
including British Petroleum which signed an
exploration contract in 2007 with the Ghadaffi
government are among the potential "beneficiaries" of
the proposed US-NATO military operation.
More generally, what is at stake is the redrawing of
the map of Africa, a process of neo-colonial
redivision, the scrapping of the demarcations of the
1884 Berlin Conference, the conquest of Africa by the
United States in alliance with Britain, in a US-NATO
led operation.
The colonial redivision of Africa. 1913
Libya: Strategic Saharan Gateway to
Central Africa
Libya has borders with several countries which are
within France's sphere of influence, including
Algeria, Tunisia, Niger and Chad.
Chad is potentially an oil rich economy. ExxonMobil
and Chevron have interests in Southern Chad including
a pipeline project. Southern Chad is a gateway into
the Darfur region of Sudan, which is also strategic in
view of its oil wealth.
China has oil interests in both Chad and Sudan. The
China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) signed a
farreaching agreement with the Chad government in
2007.
Niger is strategic to the United States in view of its
extensive reserves of uranium. At present, France
dominates the uranium industry in Niger through the
French nuclear conglomerate Areva, formerly known as
Cogema. China also has a stake in Niger's uranium
industry.
More generally, the Southern border of Libya is
strategic for the United States in its quest to extend
its sphere of influence in Francophone Africa, a vast
territory extending from North Africa to Central and
Western Africa. Historically this region was part of
France and Belgium's colonial empires, the borders of
which were established at the Berlin Conference of
1884.
Source www.hobotraveler.com
The US played a passive role at the 1884 Berlin
Conference. This new 21st Century redivision of the
African continent, predicated on the control over oil,
natural gas and strategic minerals (cobalt, uranium,
chromium, manganese, platinum and uranium) largely
supports dominant Anglo-American corporate interests.
US interference in North Africa redefines the
geopolitics of an entire region. It undermines China
and overshadows the influence of the European Union.
This new redivision of Africa not only weakens the
role of the former colonial powers (including France
and Italy) in North Africa. it is also part of a
broader process of displacing and weakening France
(and Belgium) over a large part of the African
continent.
US puppet regimes have been installed in several
African countries which historically were in the
sphere of influence of France (and Belgium), including
The Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. Several
countries in West Africa (including Côte d'Ivoire) are
slated to become US proxy states.
The European Union is heavily dependent on the flow of
Libyan oil. 85 percent of its oil is sold to European
countries. In the case of a war with Libya, the supply
of petroleum to Western Europe could be further
disrupted, largely affecting Italy, France and
Germany. Thirty percent of Italy's oil and 10 percent
of its gas are imported from Libya. Libyan gas is fed
through the Greenstream pipeline in the Mediterranean
(See map below).
The implications of these potential disruptions are
far-reaching. They also have a direct bearing on the
relationship between the US and the European Union.
Greenstream pipeline linking Libya to Italy
Concluding Remarks
The mainstream media through massive disinformation is
complicit in justifying a military agenda which, if
carried out, would have devastating consequences not
only for the Libyan people: the social and economic
impacts would be felt Worldwide.
There are at present three distinct war theaters in
the broader Middle East Central Asian region:
Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq. In the case of an attack
on Libya, a fourth war theater would be opened up in
North Africa, with the risk of military escalation.
Public opinion must take cognizance of the hidden
agenda behind this alleged humanitarian undertaking,
heralded by the heads of state and heads of government
of NATO countries as a "Just War". The Just War theory
in both its classical and contemporary versions
upholds war as a "humanitarian operation". It calls
for military intervention on ethical and moral grounds
against "rogue states" and "Islamic terrorists". The
Just war theory demonizes the Gaddafi regime while
providing a humanitarian mandate to US-NATO military
intervention.
The heads of state and heads of government of NATO
countries are the architects of war and destruction in
Iraq and Afghanistan. In an utterly twisted logic,
they are heralded as the voices of reason, as the
representatives of the "international community".
Realities are turned upside down. A humanitarian
intervention is launched by war criminals in high
office, who are the unchallenged guardians of the Just
War theory.
Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo,... Civilian casualties in
Pakistan resulting from US drone attacks on towns and
villages ordered by president Obama, are not front
page news, nor are the 2 million civilian deaths in
Iraq.
There is no such thing as a "Just War". The history of
US imperialism should be understood. The 2000 Report
of the Project of the New American Century entitled
"Rebuilding Americas' Defenses" calls for the
implementation of a long war, a war of conquest. One
of the main components of this military agenda is: to
"Fight and decisively win in multiple, simultaneous
theater wars".
"Operation Libya" is part of that process. It is
another theater in the Pentagon's logic of
"simultaneous theater wars".
The PNAC document faithfully reflects the evolution of
US military doctrine since 2001. The US plans to be
involved simultaneously in several war theaters in
different regions of the World.
While protecting America, namely "National Security"
of the United States of America is upheld as an
objective, the PNAC report does spell out why these
multiple theater wars are required. The humanitarian
justification is not mentioned.
What is the purpose of America's military roadmap?
Libya is targeted because it is one among several
remaining countries outside America's sphere of
influence, which fail to conform to US demands. Libya
is a country which has been selected as part of a
military "road map" which consists of "multiple
simultaneous theater wars". In the words of former
NATO Commander Chief General Wesley Clark:
"in the Pentagon in November 2001, one of the senior
military staff officers had time for a chat. Yes, we
were still on track for going against Iraq, he said.
But there was more. This was being discussed as part
of a five-year campaign plan, he said, and there were
a total of seven countries, beginning with Iraq, then
Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Iran, Somalia and Sudan....
(Wesley Clark, Winning Modern Wars, p. 130).
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