Mikkal Herberg Pens Intro to Paper on Asian Energy Growth
Oil and Gas for Asia: Geopolitical Implications of Asia’s Rising Demand
09/17/2012
Mikkal E. Herberg,
The National Bureau of Asian Research
Asia has become “ground zero” for growth in global energy and commodity markets. The region’s rapid economic growth is driving an enormous rise in the consumption of oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) to fuel booming motorization and industrial growth. This energy boom has been centered in China, but energy demand is rising dramatically across developing Asia and is being shaped by shifting economic, environmental, and geopolitical factors.
In the case of oil, Asia has accounted for 66% of growth in global oil demand over the past two decades. Moreover, according to the 2011 World Energy Outlook by the International Energy Agency, Asia is likely to account for over 85% of the entire increase in demand over the next twenty years—with virtually all demand growth occurring in developing Asia. Furthermore, Japan and South Korea remain 100% dependent on oil imports, China now depends on imports for more than half of its oil needs, and India and Southeast Asia also depend on imports for three-fourths of their oil needs.
Click here to read the full article.
Related Links
Mikkal Herberg is a senior lecturer on international and Asian energy at the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, University of California, San Diego. He is also the BP Foundation Senior Research Fellow for International Energy at the Pacific Council on International Policy and also serves as research director on Asian energy security at The National Bureau of Asian Research.
