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Last week, petroleum prices reached a five-year low, and the fall is likely to last as new production and alternative sources enter the market. India, which has a huge petroleum products bill, now has a chance to shock-proof its economy, diversify dependence away from West Asia, and become energy-efficient
Courtesy: wikimedia
The fall in oil prices is creating new complexities for the energy exporting economies of West Asia. With smaller profits, these countries may not be able to buy off political dissent at home and fund client governments and rebels abroad. Lower energy prices could also mean a renewed chance for peace
Courtesy: U.S. Staff Sergeant Aaron Allmon
Obama’s strategy to target the IS in Syria within the framework of a U.S.-led international coalition has met with a tepid response. There are reports that the U.S may offer India a non-NATO ally status during Modi’s upcoming visit in a bid to seek greater support – a gesture that India will do well to disregard.
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The growing ISIS-driven violence in Iraq highlights India’s vulnerability to the turmoil in West Asia: we heavily depend on the region for our energy. To insulate the country’s energy security from the upheavals, India must urgently diversify its sources and types of fuel, and develop its own energy ecosystem
Courtesy: Wikipedia.org
The rise of the militant ISIS will alter the stability and future of all West Asian countries, and can impact India in multiple ways. India must re-evaluate its West Asia policy, and address the safety of its nationals in Iraq, the security of its oil supplies, and the fallout on South Asia of this resurgence of strife
Courtesy: laprensa
Over two years after American troops left Iraqi soil, the rise of the brutal ISIS is forcing a war weary U.S.to contemplate a return to the country. Amid plummeting approval ratings and divided opinions at home, President Barack Obama will have to carefully weigh the implications of a disintegrated Iraq on the U.S. and indeed, the world.
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An underwater gas pipeline project connecting Oman with India’s west coast is being resurrected. Several factors explain the renewed interest, including the relaxing of sanctions against Iran and India’s need to counter-balance geopolitical and security considerations dogging other land-based projects
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The issue of gas pricing is in the public discourse after the Aam Aadmi Party questioned the logic of linking domestic prices to global rates. In the absence of a single global marker price, it is time India, and other large importing countries in Asia, develop a pricing mechanism that reflects regional realities
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In recent years, U.S. oil and gas imports have declined due to the development of shale resources in the country. How will the production of shale oil, increase in oil production by non-OPEC countries, supply disruptions in West Asia and economic growth in India and China impact global crude oil prices?
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The India-Japan alliance needs to be viewed through a prism broader than that of "containing" China, and by treating the Indian and Pacific oceans as a single entity. Such an alliance has the potential to strengthen the geopolitical security of India and Japan, along with that of all their allies and associates