the new petro power paradigm - Diplomat Magazine

EDITOR’S NOTE |DIPLOMATICA
jennifer campbell
The enduring
strength of oil
Oil is power — no question about
it. And though climate change
has fueled a desire on the part of
some people and some nations to curb
our dependency on it, it seems clear that
this truism will be around for a while.
To that end, writer Wolfgang Depner has
put together a top-10 list which looks
at the countries that could give Russia
and Saudi Arabia a run for their oilsupremacy
money. His list will surprise
you. It includes countries such as Israel,
Greenland and Australia. Others are less
surprising — Canada, Iran and Iraq, for
example. Turn to page 36 for the full story,
and the rest of the list.
Also in our cover package, Carleton
University Dean André Plourde looks at
the world’s natural gas resources and tells
us how technology changed North America’s
potential to become an even bigger
player in this market. Then Lawrence Solomon,
founder and executive director of
the Energy Probe environmental research
foundation, argues that the United States
can have energy security “whenever it
wants it” and quotes one industry insider
who compares America’s so-far untapped
oil riches to “another Venezuela or Kuwait
by 2020.”
The second part of this issue’s Dispatches
section is devoted to responses
to our July 2011 cover story. Mr. Depner's
selection of despotic leaders certainly
UP FRONT
Our cover package on the new petro power paradigm
looks at the top 10 countries to watch as they flex their
energy muscle in the coming years. We also have a piece
by André Plourde, who talks about the potential of shale
gas and shale oil and another by Energy Probe’s Lawrence
Solomon, who writes about the potential of both the
United States and Israel as energy brokers. The package
begins in page 37.
sparked debate and we made space for
the diplomats who wanted to respond.
We heard from ambassadors from Saudi
Arabia, China and Zimbabwe and from
the Rwandan high commissioner. Their
statements begin on page 50. In addition,
we feature the thoughts of Derek Burney,
former Canadian ambassador to the U.S.
and one-time adviser to Prime Minister
Stephen Harper, on Canada’s relations
with the U.S.
For the past few issues, we’ve brought
you cartoons from across the Middle East,
but this time we’ve canvassed the entire
world. Meanwhile, our regular columnist,
Fen Hampson, assesses Foreign Minister
John Baird’s performance in the job so far
and offers some advice on how he can distinguish
himself over the long term. In the
same section, Guatemalan Ambassador
Georges de La Roche gives a frank assessment
of the drug problem that plagues
Central American countries such as his
own, and indeed all of North America. We
also kick off a new feature called Notes
from the Field, where key people from Canadian
NGOs and charities tell us about
their international projects. This time, we
highlight SchoolBOX’s program to establish
schools in Nicaragua and Friends of
Sudan’s efforts to help the world’s newest
country — South Sudan — get off the
ground.
In his books column, George Fetherling
discusses Wendy Brown’s book — Walled
States, Waning Sovereignty — that examines
the walls nations have erected over time,
from Hadrian’s to the Great Wall of China
and the Berlin Wall. In Canadiana, Laura
Neilson Bonikowsky takes us back to the
War of 1812 and its surrounding myths,
while food columnist Margaret Dickenson
offers up some great canapés. Wine
columnist Pieter van Den Weghe pairs
some wine and cheese for us while culture
editor Margo Roston takes us on a tour
of the newly renovated residence of Irish
Ambassador Raymond Bassett. Rounding
things out, South African High Commissioner
Mohau Pheko takes us on a virtual
vacation in her country.
CONTRIBUTORS
Derek H. Burney
Derek H. Burney is senior strategic
adviser to Norton Rose OR LLP. He
is chairman of GardaWorld’s international
advisory board, a director of
TransCanada Pipelines Limited and
a member of the advisory board of
Paradigm Capital Inc. Mr. Burney is a
senior research fellow at the Canadian
Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute.
He headed the transition team
for Prime Minister Stephen Harper
from January to March 2006. He was
president and chief executive officer
of CAE Inc. (1999-2004) and was chairman
and chief executive officer of Bell
Canada International Inc. (1993-1999).
Mr. Burney served as Canada’s ambassador
to the United States from
1989-1993.
André Plourde
André Plourde is an economics professor
at Carleton University and
dean of the faculty of public affairs.
Over the years, he has twice taken
leave from academic life to work in
the federal public service (first with
the department of finance and then
with Natural Resources Canada). He
has also served on numerous advisory
committees. In 2007, he was appointed
to the province of Alberta’s royalty
review panel and was also president
of the International Association for
Energy Economics that year. More recently,
he was a member of the Royal
Society of Canada’s expert panel on
the environmental and health impacts
of Canada’s oilsands industry.
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