02.08.2004, 12:58
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Zitat:Persian Gulf Oil and Gas Exports Fact SheetDiese Quelle erscheint allgemein für das Thema empfehlenswert.
In 2002, the Persian Gulf countries (Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) produced about 25% of the world's oil, while holding nearly two-thirds (674 billion barrels) of the world's crude oil reserves. OECD gross oil imports from Persian Gulf countries averaged about 10.6 million barrels per day (bbl/d) during 2002, accounting for 27% of the OECD's total gross oil imports. Besides oil, the Persian Gulf region also has huge reserves (1,923 trillion cubic feet -- Tcf) of natural gas, accounting for 36% of total proven world gas reserves.
The Persian Gulf, also known as the Arabian Gulf, is a 600-mile-long body of water which separates Iran from the Arabian Peninsula, and one of the most strategic waterways in the world due to its importance in world oil transportation. At its narrowest point (the Strait of Hormuz), the Gulf narrows to only 34 miles wide.
There have been, and continue to be, significant territorial disputes between Persian Gulf countries. Besides the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, and before that the Iran-Iraq War from 1980 to 1988, another important dispute is between the UAE and Iran over ownership of three islands -- Abu Musa, Greater Tunb Island, and Lesser Tunb Island, all strategically located in the Strait of Hormuz. The three islands were effectively occupied by Iranian troops in 1992. In 1995, the Iranian Foreign Ministry claimed that the islands are "an inseparable part of Iran." Iran rejected a 1996 proposal by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for the dispute to be resolved by the International Court of Justice, an option supported by the UAE. In early 1996, Iran took further moves to strengthen its hold on the disputed islands. These actions included starting up a power plant on Greater Tunb, opening an airport on Abu Musa, and announcing plans for construction of a new port on Abu Musa. In September 2000, Iran stated its willingness to resume talks with the UAE on the dispute. In March 2000, Jane's Defence Weekly reported that satellite images of Abu Musa and the Tunbs did not show any evidence that Iran had fortified the islands militarily, or turned them into "unsinkable aircraft carriers capable of closing the (Hormuz) Strait during a crisis." On December 31, 2001, the GCC issued a statement reiterating its support for the UAE's sovereignty over Abu Musa and the Tunbs, declared Iran's claims on the islands as "null and void," and backed "all measures...by the UAE to regain sovereignty on its three islands peacefully."
In February 1991, Iraqi troops, before being expelled from Kuwait by coalition forces, dumped millions of barrels of oil into the Persian Gulf, creating an environmental crisis and also threatening desalination plants in the region. During the Iran-Iraq War, oil tankers were attacked in the Persian Gulf by both Iraq and Iran, leading in part to the U.S. decision in 1987 to "reflag" Kuwait tankers and also to increase U.S. naval forces in the Persian Gulf.
On March 20, 2003, a U.S.-led coalition began attacks on Iraqi targets, followed by a ground invasion. By mid-April, U.S. forces entered Baghdad, Mosul, Kirkuk, and other Iraqi cities, while securing important oilfields in the northern and southern parts of the country. The war in Iraq began just over a year after President Bush, in his January 2002 State of the Union address, labeled Iraq (along with Iran and North Korea) as members of an "axis of evil" that supported terrorism and were developing weapons of mass destruction. This speech came five months after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the worst such attack ever on U.S. soil.
The Persian Gulf contains around 674 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, representing approximately two thirds of proven, conventional world oil reserves, and 1,923 Tcf of natural gas reserves (35% of the world total). Also, at the end of 2002, Persian Gulf countries maintained about 22.3 million bbl/d of oil production capacity, or 32% of the world total. Perhaps even more significantly, the Persian Gulf countries normally maintain an overwhelming share (around 90%) of the world's excess oil production capacity (note: as of April 2003, following the Iraq war, excess world oil production capacity was only around 0.7-1.2 million bbl/d, all of which was located in the Persian Gulf region). Excess production capacity is important because, in the event of an oil supply disruption, such as the recent Venezuela, Iraq, and Nigeria situations, this oil can be brought online to compensate.
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