Geopolitical Monitor - Topic: Energy Security

May 30, 2008 (National Journal) - Computer hackers in China, including those working on behalf of the Chinese government and military, have penetrated deeply into the information systems of U.S. companies and government agencies, stolen proprietary information from American executives in advance of their business meetings in China, and, in a few cases, gained access to electric power plants in the United States, possibly triggering two recent and widespread blackouts in Florida and the Northeast, according to U.S. government officials and computer-security experts.

ASTANA May 29, 2008 (RIA Novosti) - Kazakhstan has ratified a treaty with Azerbaijan allowing Kazakh crude to be pumped through a pipeline linking Azerbaijan's Caspian coast to Turkey's Mediterranean coast, the presidential administration said.

May 28, 2008 (AP) - Declining oil reserves and investment have forced Indonesia to quit the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries even as other members cash in on soaring global prices, the energy minister said today.

May 23, 2008 (Reuters) - Oil prices at a record high above $135 a barrel are rising due to market sentiment rather than a shortage of supply, Royal Dutch Shell's chief executive said on Thursday.

May 22, 2008 (AFP) - OPEC chief Abdala El Badri on Thursday said members were unhappy with surging prices he blamed on speculators and a weak US dollar.

May 21, 2008 (AP) - Wall Street pitched lower for the second straight session Wednesday as record-high oil prices and a bleak economic assessment from the Federal Reserve deepened investors' worry that Americans may face several more months of rising costs and a shaky employment picture. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 227 points, logging its widest two-day loss since late February.

KHARTOUM May 20, 2008 (Andrew Heavens, Reuters) - Heavy fighting erupted between Sudan's army and southern Sudanese forces in the disputed oil-rich town of Abyei on Tuesday, leaving at least 100 wounded and an unknown number dead, aid workers said.

May 20, 2008 (AP) - The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation on Tuesday allowing the Justice Department to sue OPEC members for limiting oil supplies and working together to set crude prices, but the White House threatened to veto the measure.

Dubai recently announced its partnership with China in the creation of a billion dollar investment fund. Saudi Arabia recently announced its commitment to double oil exports to China by 2010. These two announcements exemplify China’s Middle East energy strategy: to entrench itself economically in the region, even at a loss, so as to obtain the political leverage required to secure access to oil and gas.

BEIJING May 13, 2008 (Chen Aizhu) - China resumed operation of a major oil products pipeline on Tuesday after the previous day's earthquake forced it to briefly stop pumping, but some gas wells were shut by a government order, industry officials said.