Syria’s Pipelineistan: the Liquid Natural Gas War Between the United States of America and Russia (Part One)

“. . . There are a lot of every day human beings being marginalized by our very corrupt political system . . . [with] two political parties who are funded by predatory banks, fossil fuel giants and war profiteers…” —Dr. Jill Stein | US 2016 Presidential Candidate

Looking at all the illegal wars the United States of America, the rogue Empire of Chaos, has in progress, the most complex one is probably the Syrian war. So what could drive the U.S. to undertake such a crusade in this already battered part of the world? Why is the Rogue Empire of Chaos waging yet another war? Let’s follow the money trail and look at a few facts about Syria.

Since the 1980s, Syria has been depleting its resources of own crude oil. After peaking at 650,000 bpd (barrel per day) in 1995, crude oil production has plummeted to about 380,000 bpd in 2007. With declining output and rising consumer demand for petroleum products, Syria’s overall oil balance has turned negative in 2007, thus the need for Syria to orientate itself towards new sources of revenue.

Image 1. Bashar Al-Assad Four Seas Strategy Project | Google Maps

In 2009, recognizing that the heady days of Syrian oil production of the 1980s were long gone and that the sector’s future lay in transit, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad announced a “Four Seas Strategy” (Image 1.) aimed at transforming the country into a regional hub for oil transportation between the Persian Gulf and the Black, Caspian and Mediterranean seas. Bashar Al-Assad started at taking steps to realize the country’s transit-center potential and bring the four seas strategy closer to reality.

In late 2010, Bashar Al-Assad’s government signed a memorandum of understanding with Iraq for the construction of two oil and one gas pipeline to carry gas and oil from Iraq’s Akkas and Kirkuk fields, respectively, to the Syrian port of Banias on the Mediterranean Sea. In July 2011 Iranian officials announced a $10 billion gas pipeline deal between Syria, Iraq and Iran that would transport gas from Iran’s South Pars gas field, the world’s biggest, through Iraq to Syria.

Image 2. Tweet from Dr. Jill Stein | October 22. 2016 | 8:30 PM

Looking back at the 2016 U.S. Presidential election Geopolitical News recalls Presidential Candidate Dr. Jill Stein as the only candidate who had the honesty to inform her voters about the real reason for the US-Syrian war (Image 2.). It’s about the United States of America and Russia controlling the Persian Gulf’s largest liquid natural gas field in the world. This gas field is shared between Qatar and its North Dome and Iran and its South Pars. Here are a few facts about the North Dome/South Pars gas field from Wikipedia:

Image 3. Qatari North Dome and Iranian South Pars | Wikipedia

 

The South Pars/North Dome field is a natural-gas condensate field located in the Persian Gulf. It is by far the world’s largest natural gas field. Iran and Qatar share ownership of the field. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the field holds an estimated 1,800 trillion cubic feet (51 trillion cubic meters) of in-situ natural gas and some 50 billion barrels (7.9 billion cubic meters) of natural gas condensates. On the list of natural gas fields it has more recoverable reserves than all other fields combined. It has significant geostrategic influence. This gas field covers an area of 9,700 square kilometres (3,700 sq mi), of which 3,700 square kilometres ,400 sq mi) (South Pars) is in Iranian territorial waters and 6,000 square kilometres (2,300 sq mi) (North Dome) is in Qatari territorial waters.

A “minute detail” that bothers the U.S. neocons is the fact that Syrian President Bashar Al Assad has refused to support the Qatari pipeline in favor of the Iranian one sponsored and supported by Russia: one of the main reasons why the US and Europe are involved in a conflict of geopolitical and geo-strategic importance: the Syrian conflict is about who will control the export of Middle Eastern gas: the United States of America or Russia?

Brazilian reporter Pepe Escobar qualifies this war as “Syria’s Pipelineistan being a war of deals, not bullets.” Please notice that the LNG reserves of Qatari-Iranian North Dome South Pars gas fields have more recoverable reserves than all other fields combined.

It’s about the geopolitics of who is going to control the supply of LNG towards Europe and the world: Qatar and its US allies defending the Petrodollar or Iran and its Russian allies defending the Petroyuan? (Image 4.)

Image 4. Persian Gulf: Qatar and Iran | Qatar: North Dome & South Pars: Iran | Google Maps

Pipeline One:  Petroyuan Russian side: Persian Gulf South Pars from Iran via Iraq, Syria, Lebanon; a project backed up by Russia (Gazprom), Iran and China.

Pipeline Two: Petrodollar U.S. side: Persian Gulf North Dome from Qatar, via Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria; a project supported by the United States of America and its allies: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. 

Image 5. Financial War Petrodollar vs Petroyuan

Who will win this financial war? (Image 5.) The United States and its European Allies with the Petrodollar or China and Russia with the Petroyuan?

This is the real dichotomy of the Syrian conflict.

Bruno P. Gebarski for Geopolitical News

NATO’s list of demands for Russia

This article is taken from the following website Fort Russ. The original title is: NATO’s list of demands for Russia

This is what the West, as well as some enlightened citizens in Russia, who call themselves “free people” and who wish our country only good, demand from Russia:

• Lift the siege on Aleppo. [Syria]
• Do not kill terrorists worldwide, which receive funding from the United States, Qatar, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia. [Al Qaeda, ISIS, IS, Daesh are all CIA tools created by the US since the its intervention into the Soviet Afghan war in the 80s.]
• Do not interfere with the laying of gas pipelines from Qatar to Europe. [Alternative line is from Iran-Iraq-Syria and on to Europe]

• Do not obstruct the U.S. Navy from amassing a fleet in the Black sea close to the Maritime borders of Russia. [Of course the U.S. want that base for their aggressive and nefarious NATO war games.]
• Return Crimea to their puppet Ukraine, in order to station a NATO fleet and missile bases there. [Crimea should be annexed by the U.S. Neo-Nazi fascist “Ukrainian” government: i.e. Svoboda political party supported by the EU and the U.S.]

• Do not lay gas pipelines to Europe. [of course not: The U.S. wants its own control of European gas supply from Qatar via Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria who refuses since backing up the competitive pipeline sponsored by Russia: Gazprom and China from Iran via Iraq, Syria and on to Europe.]
• Do not stop Ukraine’s blackmailing Russia for gas transit.
• Do not demand payments of debts from Ukraine.
• Do not interfere with the placement of NATO bases in Georgia and Ukraine, on Russia’s borders, and along with this to refuse support for Donbass.
• Do not interfere with the work of foreign “charities” and NGO’s: [Fueling color revolutions such as Ukraine, Georgia, Egypt, Afghanistan, Serbia, Tunisia, Syria and Iraq.]

• Do not declare those Russian mass media outlets to be foreign agents which are receiving financing from abroad and acting in the interests of other countries.
• Do not oppose the Russian opposition, requiring the government to concede to the West everything it wants
• Do not take actions that prevent the domination of the [toxic fiat paper money] U.S. Dollar around the world.
• Do not enter into international agreements that intend to limit the reach of the U.S.’s global control.
• Do not increase military expenditure.
• Do not build the Nicaragua canal.

• Do not interfere with American ambassadors engaged in spying on Russia.
• Do not seek to rebuild ties with former Soviet Republics.
• Completely pull back from the North Caucasus.
• Do not interfere with republics inside of Russia Republics pushing for the democratic right to self-determination and secession from Russia.
• Do not interfere with Siberia and the Far East and the “help” they are receiving from the “international community” in determining the issue of their statehood.
• Do not interfere with Kaliningrad’s secession from Russia and becoming a member of the EU.
• To generally, as much as possible, close Russia until the end of time.
• Do not forget to hand over their nuclear weapons to the UN and NATO.
• Treat mineral reserves fairly which only happen to be in what was once Russia, and to hand them over to be managed by the global democratic community.

Source: Fort Russ. The original title is: NATO’s list of demands for Russia.

 

Bruno Gebarski