{"id":3300,"date":"2023-04-01T21:31:08","date_gmt":"2023-04-02T01:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.yvancliche.org\/?p=3300"},"modified":"2023-09-24T09:37:36","modified_gmt":"2023-09-24T13:37:36","slug":"profits-and-power-navigating-the-politics-and-geopolitics-of-oil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yvancliche.org\/?p=3300","title":{"rendered":"Profits and Power: Navigating the Politics and Geopolitics of Oil"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Site web CGAI<\/a>, 1er avril 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BOOK REVIEW<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00ab\u00a0Profits and Power: Navigating the Politics and Geopolitics of Oil<\/a>\u00ab\u00a0
by David E. Detomasi
University of Toronto Press \/ July 2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reviewed by Yvan Cliche<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apart from the stakeholders and experts in oil-producing regions, not many people seem to be interested in oil anymore. This is certainly the case in my province, Quebec.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many older people are fixated on outdated concepts such as the Seven Sisters, those big producers from before the creation of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) in the 1960s. And young people often know oil only as a resource to be fought in the name of climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a professor at Queen\u2019s University, David E. Detomasi knows young people well. But the Alberta-born professor is surprised by their lack of knowledge about the political importance of this resource. Hence the timely idea to write his book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat they thought they knew about oil was wrong, and not just by a little bit … Clearly there was and is an informational hole to be filled, and I thought I was as good a candidate as any to fill it,\u201d he writes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Detomasi is a pragmatist. He knows the world will remain dependent on oil for a long time. He does not take a position for or against this resource. But he reminds us that the oil trade is still the biggest in the world, and that oil is transited everywhere. Because of its economic and financial importance, the oil trade still exerts a major international influence, deeply affecting our economies and our geopolitics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The year 2022, with Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine and the explosion of energy prices, has demonstrated this clearly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trying to fill an information gap, the book is didactic. It reminds us of the industry\u2019s basic concepts, such as the difference between conventional and unconventional oil; the importance of costs to extract oil from deposits; the immense infrastructure put in place for its transport (especially at sea); and the historical falsity of the theory of peak oil. Unsurprisingly, oil\u2019s political importance is simply too great to be left outside the scope of state intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Detomasi also reviews some major historical events since the discovery of oil and its rise to become a worldwide traded resource in the 1860s; the role of John D. Rockefeller in organizing a stable market; the dismantling of his company, Standard Oil, for illegal monopolistic practices; the strategic importance of oil for the mobility of armies during the First World War; the attempts at cartels by major oil-producing companies; the creation of OPEC; and the emergence of powerful national oil companies (NOCs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Particular attention is given to the years 2000-2014, when prices soared after years of stability and the oil market was affected by its financialization. This period also signalled Russia\u2019s return as a player, with President Vladimir Putin taking advantage of high energy prices to consolidate his power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The author also examines China\u2019s thirst for energy and the sense of vulnerability which leads it to deploy a foreign policy largely focused on the quest for energy resources (Going Out Policy).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final chapters remind us how quickly things can change in this industry. After a period of high prices, they fell during the 2010s, particularly due to the abundance of oil brought on by the shale revolution in the United States. This colossal shift afforded the U.S. foreign policy flexibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The author also highlights the impacts of price volatility. In 2014, declining oil prices brought a rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Russia (OPEC+) and the saturation of the oil market during the pandemic, with oil prices plunging into negative territory in 2020 for the first time in history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The geopolitics of oil still matters because of climate change issues and the energy transition. Anyone interested in world politics cannot avoid it, says Detomasi: \u201cThe geopolitics of great power competition are still, as always, going to play out in the oil arena.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Detomasi\u2019s Profits and Power<\/em> is a tour de force. It gives all the essentials, but at the same time provides useful, relevant and interesting details on what people need to know about this key resource. This is a go-to book for anyone seeking an intelligent overview of oil as a key geopolitical resource.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

\u00ab\u00a0Profits and Power: Navigating the Politics and Geopolitics of Oil<\/a>\u00ab\u00a0
par David E. Detomasi
University of Toronto Press \/ Juillet 2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Revu par Yvan Cliche<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00c0 part les intervenants et experts des r\u00e9gions productrices, il n\u2019y a plus grand monde qui s\u2019int\u00e9ressent au p\u00e9trole. C\u2019est certainement le cas dans ma province, le Qu\u00e9bec.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Les plus vieux d\u2019entre nous sont encore, pour plusieurs, fix\u00e9s sur de vieux concepts comme les Sept s\u0153urs, ces grandes entreprises productrices d\u2019avant la cr\u00e9ation de l\u2019OPEP (Organisation des pays exportateurs de p\u00e9trole) dans les ann\u00e9es 1960. Les jeunes ne connaissent souvent le p\u00e9trole que comme une ressource \u00e0 combattre au nom des changements climatiques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ces jeunes, le professeur David E. Detomasi les connait bien, comme enseignant \u00e0 l\u2019Universit\u00e9 Queen\u2019s. Mais cet enseignant originaire de l\u2019Alberta s\u2019\u00e9tonne de leur m\u00e9connaissance sur l\u2019importance politique de cette ressource. D\u2019o\u00f9 l\u2019id\u00e9e, opportune, d\u2019\u00e9crire son livre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat they thought they knew about oil was wrong, and not just by a little bit \u2026 Clearly there was and is an informational hole to be filled, and I thought I was as good a candidate as any to fill it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Detomasi est pragmatique : il sait que nous resterons encore bien longtemps d\u00e9pendants du p\u00e9trole. Il ne se positionne pas pour ou contre cette ressource. Mais il rappelle que le commerce du p\u00e9trole demeure encore le plus gros dans le monde, que le p\u00e9trole se transite absolument partout dans le monde. Et sa taille, \u00e9conomique, financi\u00e8re, exerce toujours une influence internationale de grande envergure, touchant profond\u00e9ment \u00e0 la fois nos \u00e9conomies et notre g\u00e9opolitique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

L\u2019ann\u00e9e 2022, avec l\u2019invasion de l\u2019Ukraine par la Russie et l\u2019explosion des prix de l\u2019\u00e9nergie, l\u2019a fort bien d\u00e9montr\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Le livre, comme il se doit, est didactique. Il rappelle des concepts de base sur l\u2019industrie, comme la diff\u00e9rence entre le p\u00e9trole conventionnel et non conventionnel ; l\u2019importance de la g\u00e9ologie; celle des prix pour extraire ou non du p\u00e9trole des gisements; l\u2019immense infrastructure mise en place pour son transport, notamment en mer; et la fausset\u00e9 historique de la th\u00e9orie du peak oil. Enfin son importance politique est trop grande pour \u00eatre laiss\u00e9e hors du champ d\u2019intervention des \u00e9tats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Le professeur Detomasi passe ensuite en revue les grandes \u00e9tapes historiques depuis la d\u00e9couverte du p\u00e9trole dans les ann\u00e9es 1860 aux \u00c9tats-Unis : le r\u00f4le de John D. Rockefeller pour organiser un march\u00e9 stable ; le d\u00e9mant\u00e8lement de la Standard Oil pour pratiques monopolistiques ill\u00e9gales ; l\u2019importance du p\u00e9trole pour la mobilit\u00e9 des arm\u00e9es durant la Premi\u00e8re Guerre mondiale ; les tentatives de cartels des grandes entreprises productrices ; la cr\u00e9ation de l\u2019OPEP ; et l\u2019\u00e9mergence en puissance des compagnies nationales (national oil companies ou NOC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Une attention particuli\u00e8re est donn\u00e9e aux ann\u00e9es 2000-2014, celle des prix partant en fl\u00e8che apr\u00e8s des ann\u00e9es de stabilit\u00e9, tout en faveur des pays producteurs. Le march\u00e9 du p\u00e9trole, physique, subit alors davantage les effets de sa financiarisation. Cette p\u00e9riode confirme le retour de la Russie, avec un Vladimir Poutine qui profite des prix \u00e9lev\u00e9s de l\u2019\u00e9nergie pour consolider son pouvoir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

L\u2019auteur passe \u00e9galement en revue la soif \u00e9nerg\u00e9tique de la Chine et son sentiment de vuln\u00e9rabilit\u00e9, qui l\u2019am\u00e8ne \u00e0 d\u00e9ployer une politique \u00e9trang\u00e8re largement ax\u00e9e sur la qu\u00eate de ressources \u00e9nerg\u00e9tiques (Going Out Policy).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Les derniers chapitres nous rappellent comment les choses peuvent changer rapidement dans cette industrie. Apr\u00e8s une p\u00e9riode de prix \u00e9lev\u00e9s, ceux-ci chutent durant la d\u00e9cennie 2010, notamment devant l\u2019abondance de p\u00e9trole amen\u00e9 par la r\u00e9volution de schiste aux \u00c9tats-Unis, ce qui donne \u00e0 ce pays plus d\u2019options en politique \u00e9trang\u00e8re.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

L\u2019auteur s\u2019attarde aussi impacts de la volatilit\u00e9 des prix du p\u00e9trole. En 2014, les prix en baisse am\u00e8nent un rapprochement entre l\u2019Arabie saoudite et la Russie (OPEP+) et la saturation du march\u00e9 durant la pand\u00e9mie, avec une chute historique des cours du p\u00e9trole, qui plongent en zone n\u00e9gative en 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

La g\u00e9opolitique du p\u00e9trole compte plus que jamais avec les enjeux du changement climatique et de la transition \u00e9nerg\u00e9tique. Toute personne qui s\u2019int\u00e9resse \u00e0 la politique mondiale ne peut encore la contourner, dit M. Detomasi : \u201cThe geopolitics of great power competition are still, as always, going to play out in the oil arena.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ce livre est selon moi un tour de force. Il donne l\u2019essentiel, mais en m\u00eame temps beaucoup de d\u00e9tails utiles, pertinents et int\u00e9ressants, sur ce qu\u2019il y a \u00e0 connaitre sur cette ressource. Une lecture de r\u00e9f\u00e9rence pour quiconque veut faire intelligemment un survol du p\u00e9trole comme ressource cl\u00e9 de la g\u00e9opolitique.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Site web CGAI, 1er avril 2023 BOOK REVIEW \u00ab\u00a0Profits and Power: Navigating the Politics and Geopolitics of Oil\u00ab\u00a0by David E. DetomasiUniversity of Toronto Press \/ July 2022 Reviewed by Yvan Cliche Apart from the stakeholders and experts in oil-producing regions, not many people seem to be interested in oil anymore. This is certainly the case […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[919],"class_list":["post-3300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-critique_de_livres","tag-geopolitique-petrole"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yvancliche.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yvancliche.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yvancliche.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yvancliche.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yvancliche.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3300"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.yvancliche.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3300\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3325,"href":"https:\/\/www.yvancliche.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3300\/revisions\/3325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yvancliche.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yvancliche.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yvancliche.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}