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David Victor Quoted in The Christian Science Monitor

What does China want with south Texas?

11/10/2010
Jon Brand, The Christian Science Monitor

Last month, China's thirst for energy came to American shores. On Oct. 11, the government-run China National Offshore Oil Corp. agreed to pay $2.2 billion for access to oil and gas assets in south Texas – marking China's first successful energy investment in the American market.

It's the latest recognition that south Texas – long overlooked by the US energy industry – is becoming an important frontier in what one official calls the "gold rush of the 21st century." A host of energy companies from Norway to India have already made deals in this sparse land of tall grass and Texas mulberry.

This region offers plentiful natural gas and oil locked in shale rock formations. But until recently they were difficult and expensive to tap. Since 2000, however, the United States has become a leader in fracturing these shale formations and collecting the trapped fossil fuels – a process called hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking."

This is why China and other countries have invested nearly $5 billion this year in south Texas drilling projects. They're not looking to ship American natural resources back home, but to learn how to do hydraulic fracturing themselves.

Click here to read the full news article.

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David Victor is Director of the Laboratory on International Law and Regulation (ILAR). Looking across a wide array of issues from environment and energy to human rights, trade and security, the Laboratory explores when (and why) international laws actually work.

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