-------------------------------------------------------- http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=CHI20050823&articleId=843 China raises oil stakes: China National Petroleum bids for Petrokazakhstan By Larry Chin August 23, 2005 In another round of the mushrooming geostrategic and economic Cold War over oil , and shifting regional alliances aimed at countering a belligerent United States, China National Petroleum Corporation has placed a bid to acquire Petrokazakhstan , just weeks after China National Offshore (CNOOC) lost (or, more accurately, was refused) its bid for Unocal. According to the AP report: "Beijing is especially interested in Kazakhstan, which is expected to become one of the world's leading oil producers. The discovery of the huge Kashagan oil field on its Caspian Sea coast in 2000 prompted some in the industry to call it the 'Kuwait of Central Asia'. "Chinese President Hu Jintao visited Kazakhstan in July and signed an agreement with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev to develop a 'strategic partnership.' "The two governments already are partners in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization - a six-nation security group led by Beijing and Moscow that is meant to combat Islamic extremism in Central Asia." There are several interesting aspects to this development. Clearly, China knows, as does the Anglo-American axis, that oil is the key to national security, and are willing to resort to dramatic (and some say desperate) measures for every drop. This apparently includes paying a high price for Central Asian/Caspian riches that have turned out, so far, to be a disappointing non-bonanza , including Tengiz/Kashagan, It remains to be seen if China and Petrokazakhstan know something Western majors have missed, or Nazarbayev and Petrokazakhstan is selling the Chinese a dry hole. The other fascinating aspect is the irony. The lure of the energy riches of Kazakhstan, and the vision of Central Asian pipelines were the focus of many years of corruption and set-up leading up to 9/11, and in many ways, 9/11 itself. This corruption involved as much as $1 billion in bribes to Nazarbayev, Dick Cheney (then-member of the Kazakh state oil advisory board), former Attorney General John Ashcroft, ExxonMobil and BP-Amoco. Details on this case can be found in the following stories, and the case remains the subject of a Justice Department probe: "The Elephant in the Living Room" (Mike Ruppert) "Cheney's Energy Policy Task Force, and ExxonMobil" (Peter Dale Scott) "Will ExxonMobil be indicted for payments in Kazakhstan?" (Peter Dale Scott) "Big oil, the United States, and corruption in Kazakhstan" (Larry Chin) "Chevron quizzed in bribery probe" Now the United States is forced to watch, as its most feared major geopolitical and economic rival gets a stake in the Caspian, over which the US has bribed, bombed, invaded and slaughtered. Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Centre for Research on Globalization. To become a Member of Global Research The Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG) at www.globalresearch.ca grants permission to cross-post original Global Research articles in their entirety, or any portions thereof, on community internet sites, as long as the text & title are not modified. The source must be acknowledged and an active URL hyperlink address to the original CRG article must be indicated. The author's copyright note must be displayed. For publication of Global Research articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact: •••@••.••• www.globalresearch.ca contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of "fair use" in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than "fair use" you must request permission from the copyright owner. To express your opinion on this article, join the discussion at Global Research's News and Discussion Forum For media inquiries: •••@••.••• © Copyright Larry Chin, Global Research, 2005 The url address of this article is: www.globalresearch.ca/PrintArticle.php?articleId=843 © Copyright 2005 GlobalResearch.ca Web site engine by Polygraphx Multimedia © Copyright 2005 -- http://cyberjournal.org "Apocalypse Now and the Brave New World" http://www.cyberjournal.org/cj/rkm/Apocalypse_and_NWO.html List archives: http://cyberjournal.org/cj/show_archives/?lists=newslog Subscribe to low-traffic list: •••@••.•••
