Oil Pipelines in the Caucasian Region: The Role of British Petroleum in Their Construction

a. Primary National Interest: Republic of Azerbaijan works to ensure sustained economic growth by protecting and exploiting proven oil reserves from deepwater Caspian Basin oilfields and its transport to growing western markets via the Baku-Tblilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil and associated South Caucasus (SCP) gas pipeline. Azerbaijan leverages this energy development to build strategic partnerships & ensure international attention for its independence, and attempt to influence attitudes toward the Nagorno-Karabakh (NK) conflict.

Oil has often been referred to as any economy’s lifeblood. Although this is an overemphasis, oil has been the key, nonhuman resource of the economy throughout the largest part of the 20th century. In the book “The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, And Power” by Daniel Yergin, the author illustrates the political, societal, economic, and geo-strategic importance of this product.

Almost 95 million barrels of oil and fuel are produced each day in order to provide energy and fuel to people the world over. A major component of the oil industry is the transportation of oil through various means including oil pipelines. These pipelines are capable of transporting thousands of barrels of oil thousands of miles per day. In the United States one possible pipeline has caused a lot of controversy and discussion on the impact it will have on the United States. The difficulty in deciding if the Keystone XL Pipeline should be built is in whether the possibility of economic growth outweighs the possibility of environmental destruction. In order to make a decision, one must first look into the history of oil pipelines. It is crucial

Oil has been an important resource of energy in America “since the discovery of the Spindletop geyser in 1901. It drove huge growth in the oil industry in America. Within a year, more than 1,500 oil companies had been chartered, and oil became the dominant fuel of the 20th century and an integral part of the American economy” (History.com Staff). This had developed the construction of pipelines to move the oil within the country and offshore in coastal waters. Recently, the federal government approved the construction of a new pipeline that would be transporting crude oil from North Dakota to Illinois.

The origination of this case study begins on one brisk morning back on the 19th of September in 2008 when TransCanada first submitted their application to the U.S. State Department to build the Keystone XL pipeline. The Canadian based energy infrastructure company proposed a 1,179-mile, 36-inch diameter pipeline that would transport crude oil from Canada, through Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska. Along with transporting oil from producers in Texas, Oklahoma, Montana and North Dakota (Figure 1).

US Domestic Considerations are the oil pipeline through the Southern Caucasus Region and the Black Sea for trade access.

The production of oil is one of Canada’s greatest assets as it brings in lots of profit but British Columbia is one the most beautiful places in the world and is a prime tourism area. This leads to the question is oil transportation right for British Columbia? Enbridge plans to build two pipelines that will carry oil from “central Alberta to coastal BC” (Alternatives Journal, 2012). Enbridge Incorporated is a company that is a main transporter of natural gas, crude oil and other liquids in Canada, as well as a major operator of pipelines in North America. Their plan is to run two 1170-kilometer pipelines across BC that will eventually be moving about 520,000 barrels of oil per day; this

The Keystone Pipeline is a pipeline based in Alberta, Canada that transfers up to 830,000 barrels of oil into the United States daily. The pipe is 1,179 miles long, ending in Steele city, Nebraska. Although about 61 percent of Americans approve the pipeline, there are many environmentalists and other U.S citizens who are against the pipeline and the dangers that may come from it and the effects it could have.

• US Domestic Considerations are the oil pipeline through the Southern Caucasus Region and the Black Sea for trade access.

The development and manufacturing of the oil pipelines would bring a tremendous amount of job opportunities to the Canadian economy. Creating more jobs is important in the development of a country. According to CBC, it is projected that the development of oil pipelines

I found the article by searching for more information on Native American protests on oil pipelines. I was interested in this subject because it outrages me that in this day in age we still do not fully respect Native American lands and peoples. I wanted to find out what made companies believe that they had say over these lands before the tribes who owned the land.

Although some might agree with the construction of the $3.8bn oil pipeline that would cross four states, others are opposed to that construction strongly, and things got violent recently. Protests are made to get a point across but that does not mean things won't get violent. For instance, there is a big protest that is taking place in North Dakota, that involves the construction of the $3.8bn oil pipeline being constructed on sacred land. Protesters are opposed to this construction since this pipeline would transport oil crossing the Missouri River less than a mile away from the Standing Rock Reservation. Not long after construction crews began doing their work, the protest started to get violent. In the article, “North Dakota Pipeline Protest

The Chad Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project is one of the largest investments in the private sector in Africa that costs approximately US$3.7 billion. The project is being funded by the World Bank and the International Financial Corporation. The involvement of these two major financial institutions is a demonstration of the rationale that the project will generate revenue that will enable the Chad and Cameroonian governments to invest more in programs that focus on reducing poverty like rural employment, education, and health. The involvement of the International Financial Corporation will be geared towards accomplishing three major roles. These are long-term financing, stabilizing role, and uplifting the quality and standard of mitigation plans and environmental assessments.

British petroleum (BP) is one of the seven super major oil company in the world. BP are the fourth largest gas and oil company in the world. BP has a hand in every aspect of the oil business from exploring for new oil to marketing and distribution. BP originally started as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company in 1908, established as a subsidiary of Burmah Oil Company. The Burmah Oil Company. Would capitalize on discoveries they made in Iran and the middle east. The company would take its current name as British a petroleum in 1954. The company slowly started to expand from their roots in the middle east. BP chose to expand to Alaska in 1965. BP would continue their expansion in America when the gain the majority control of Standard Oil of Ohio in 1978. Also during the time BP would continue their ongoing exploration for new sources of oil. They became the first company to strike oil in the North Sea. The British government gradually privatized Standard Oil of Ohio for 1978-1987. In the last half of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century BP took two major steps to expand their company. BP first major expansion occurred when they partnered with Amoco during this time they also acquired and absorbed Burmah Castrol in 2000. Also for 2003 to 2013 BP had a joint partnership with the oil company TNK of Russia. BP tireless effort towards expansion have made them highly successful and one of the top four oil and gas companies in the world. BP turned a profit of 6.48 billon U.S.

The oil industry is one of great power that countries are invest in. Russia is one of the leading contenders in producing oil and exports the goods to various countries. With great resources comes great strength. Oil is of the utmost important to every country therefore, Russia has an upper hand in some respects. Moreover, the history behind the oil pipelines and how Russia connects to different countries allows for insight into the power they withhold politically and economically, and on the improvements that need to be made to continue growth in this industry.