1. Introduction: Almost Two-Thirds of Proven Oil and a Third of World Natural Gas Resources Are in the Persian Gulf Countries
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Oil and GAS, Strategic Regional Cooperation between Persian Gulf countries Case study: Iran's Natural Gas Export M.M.Zalloi NIGC-DIST8 [email protected] Keywords: Strategic Regional Cooperation, Persian Gulf, Global Energy Security 1. Introduction: Almost two-thirds of proven oil and a third of world natural gas resources are in the Persian Gulf countries. If the proven resources of the Caspian Sea basin added to them, percentage of proven resources will be increased. For example Russia, Iran and Qatar have more than 55 percent of world gas reserves. For this reason, Geoffrey Kemp1's strategic energy ellipse is one of the important geo strategic and geo economic fact of our era. Also, with increasing need of countries to energy resources, the role of Persian Gulf countries in the world energy supply in the future decades will be crucial. The geo politic importance of Persian Gulf rises from oil reserves mostly. But due to more compatibility with the environment, natural gas will be a serious rival for oil and coal in the basket of the world energy consumption. In fact, there are no real substitute energy sources for the Persian Gulf in the global energy supply. Unfortunately strategic region of Persian Gulf in the past three decades faced with many security challenges due to wars and political conflicts. Iran-Iraq War, the first Persian Gulf War and Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, Iraqi War II and the crisis that occurred in 2003, all and all it implies that in recent decades the Persian Gulf region should be translated to energy and conflict any other time. In this article, the writer will try to describe approaches and arrangements of security and then its effect on security of energy supply from the Persian Gulf region will be studied. Certainly, in classic security studies, different definitions defined as classical, negative discourse, positive discourse and integration discourse is presented. After considering various definitions, new security approach (regional cooperation) for the supply of Persian Gulf energy with regarding of the new structure, role of international actors and variables will be presented and export of natural gas as a case study will be investigated. Certainly, cooperation in construction of multi-national gas transmission networks, in addition to reducing costs of natural gas, in the development of convergence in the region has an important role and consequently it will increase regional security factor. It can be a good substitute instead of military treaties and cooperation in the region. This type of cooperation for providing security, which based on elimination or reduction of political and military conflicts, can be effective to mental security of energy supply. Development of the security in the region with the help of constructive cooperation and creating a regional network of natural gas transmission lines can be interpreted as a energy 1 . Geoffrey Kemp is the Director of Regional Strategic Programs at the Nixon Center (gas) security emerging, without unnecessary political, military and economic Investments can be obtained. The Peace pipeline, which will transfer Iran's gas to Pakistan and India is an obvious example of regional development and secure convergence which it can improve relations between Pakistan and India. It is essential; the countries outside of the Persian Gulf region and major global power help to expand such cooperation in this strategic area instead militarize Persian Gulf. Because, the game rule is based on the won-won, and the regional countries can pay to develop own country's infrastructure instead of military expenditures and enormous costs for purchasing military equipment. In addition to achieve economic benefits and profit of clean energy, the people get rid of the evil of hatred inflamed space and military threats of neighbors. On the other hand, with build of stable security based on peaceful cooperation in the region, the security of energy supply for other countries will ensure. 2- Geographical and Historical facts of Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf region links the three continents of Asia, Europe and Africa and as an arm of the Indian Ocean is considered part of a system linking the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Maximum length of the Persian Gulf is 989 km and its narrowest wide is 56 km in the Strait of Hormuz. Surface area of it is 251,000 km2. Average depth of Persian Gulf is 50 m and Maximum depth is 90 m. The Persian Gulf is mostly shallow and has many islands, of which Bahrain is the largest. The basin countries of Persian Gulf are Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and Iran (along the entire north coast). Also various small islands lie within the Persian Gulf. It was generally thought that the Persian Gulf had previously extended farther north and that sediment dropped by the Tigris, Euphrates, Karun, and Karkheh rivers filled the northern part of the Persian Gulf to create a great delta. But geologic investigations now, indicate that the coastline has not moved and that the marshlands of the delta represent a sinking of the earth's crust as the Arabian land block pushes under Iran. The Persian Gulf waters have very slow currents and limited tidal range. The population of Persian Gulf is about 140 million and the majority of them are Muslim. [1], [2]. But about History of Persian Gulf, the following facts are considerable: In 550 B.C, the Achaemenid Empire established the first Persian Empire in Pars in the southwestern region of the Iranian plateau. Consequently in the Greek sources, the body of water that bordered this province came to be known as the Persian Gulf. [3]. Considering the historical background of the name Persian Gulf, Sir Arnold Wilson mentions in a book named: "Persia, A political Officials Diary", published in 1928 that: "No water channel has been so significant as Persian Gulf to the geologists, archaeologists, geographers, merchants, politicians, excursionists, and scholars whether in past or in present. This water channel which separates the Iran Plateau from the Arabian Plate, has enjoyed an Iranian Identity since at least 2200 years ago. [4]. No written deed has remained since the era before the Persian Empire, but in the oral history and culture, the Iranians have called the southern waters: "Jam Sea", "Iran Sea", and "Pars Sea". [4]. During the years: 550 to 330 B.C. Coinciding with sovereignty of the first Persian Empire on the Middle East area, especially the whole part of Persian Gulf and some parts of the Arabian Peninsula, the name of "Pars Sea" has been widely written in the compiled texts.[4] The advent of Islam took place in the Persian Gulf region and its culture has been founded on the principles of Islam. It has come to be known as the centre of the Muslim world.[1]. The Persian Gulf was an important transportation route in antiquity but declined with the fall of Mesopotamia. Because of its strategic location, the Persian Gulf region has been the centre of attention for traders, businessmen and big powers for a long time. In succeeding centuries control of the region was contested by Arabs, Persians, Turks, and Western Europeans. The commercial interests, through shipment of goods from the Persian Gulf to the outside world and vice versa have made this region so important for big powers that wars have been fought over is control. The Portuguese were the first western power to enter the Persian Gulf. It was the successful circum navigation of the Cape of Good Hope by Vasco da Gamain 1498, which ushered in the era of European penetration of the East. From the sixteenth century onwards, the Persian Gulf became intractably linked with the commercial and political rivalries of the West maritime powers: first Portugal, then Holland and France, and finally Britain. To this was added the rivalry of the Ottoman Empire from early sixteenth century when Baghdad and Basra became a part of this Empire. [1], [5], [6]. 3- Persian Gulf, Caspian Sea and Iran: oil and gas a) Persian Gulf: Oil, 'black gold" was found in the beginning of the twentieth century in the Persian Gulf region, and the Anglo-Persian Oil Company was formed in 1908 to extract this oil. Oil was so important for Great Britain that Winston Churchill wanted Britain to own the oil company, or at least ensure its own requirements of its produce. Discovery of oil elsewhere too in the Persian Gulf made the region important not only to Great Britain but to all those who needed oil. Therefore the discovery of big fossil resources in the region and the increasing need of the world’s industrial countries for the Persian Gulf oil altered the geopolitics of the region. [1], [7]. Now, the most important and biggest industry in the Persian Gulf region is oil production, with over 76 billion metric tons of recoverable oil and 32.4 trillion cubic meters of reserve gas in the region. About 25,000 tankers sail in and out of the Strait of Hormuz annually and transport about 60per cent of all the oil carried by ships throughout the world. There are about 800 offshore oil and gas platforms and 25 major oil terminals in this region. Saudi Arabia produces almost half of the net oil export in the region.[8] In the follow diagram, you can see crude oil and natural gas reserves and capacity of oil production in the Persian gulf region with regard to global energy(as a percent of global) [9]. The Persian Gulf Region and Global Energy (as a % of global) Source: Energy Information Administration Short Term Energy Outlook Persian Gulf oil is shipped east to Asia, primarily to Japan, China, and India, and west to Western Europe and the United States.