Mikkal Herberg on US Presence in Persian Gulf
Rising East Asian Oil, Gas Demand Poses US Policy Questions
10/11/2012
Nick Snow,
Oil & Gas Journal
The US may need to reconfigure several economic, military, and other strategies as well as energy policies in response to rising East Asian oil and gas demand, experts agreed at a Sept. 20 forum.
They noted that countries there already are the primary Persian Gulf crude oil consumers, and will seek more LNG as they continue to industrialize. Many have national oil companies that are trying to secure supplies by acquiring foreign production. And their cooperation will be necessary to enforce oil sanctions against Iran.
A US transition from a major oil and gas importer to a potentially large exporter raises questions ranging from the extent of military protection of East Asian energy supply routes to whether US LNG exports will be allowed and how to construct the necessary US infrastructure, the experts said.
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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.
