An increase in US oil production in recent years has given Washington more leverage in foreign policy matters, allowing it to “manoeuvre and oppose states that use their energy for malign purposes”, a senior US official said.
“Energy represents an important factor in foreign policy,” said Francis Fannon, assistant secretary of state for energy resources.
“The relatively recent growth of US oil and gas production has materially transformed energy geopolitics in [several] areas and with such speed, that friends and foes alike are still adjusting.”
Mr Fannon made the remarks on Tuesday while delivering a speech at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference that is being held online due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The US has emerged as a dominant player in the energy sector, with oil production rising to about 13 million barrels per day earlier this year, up 240 per cent from 2007 levels.
The US now exports its oil to a number of countries and its natural gas production is also increasing. The additional supply has weakened prices, though. US Liquefied Natural Gas exports have declined from their most recent peak of $16.67 per thousand cubic feet in November 2015 to $5.50 in August this year, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
Mr Fannon said the production increase had helped the country to further exert its influence around the world.
“In partnership with other [oil-] producing nations, including the UAE, we curtailed Iran’s oil exports so that the regime could no longer use oil revenue to fund terrorism and instability in the Middle East and around the world,” he said.
“Together, we removed more than 2 million barrels of Iranian oil off the market without harming the global economy or importing countries.”
Since walking away from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the US has sought to reduce Tehran’s oil exports to zero.
US sanctions restricted Iran's oil and condensate sales. Washington also cancelled waivers granted to eight of the country's significant oil buyers, including India, China, Turkey and Japan, in May last year to reduce the country’s exports.
The US is also playing an important role in the liquefied natural gas sector, Mr Fannon said.
“In 2016, when the US started exporting LNG, we were the 15th-biggest exporter in the world. In 2019, the US was the third-largest exporter and we ship gas to almost 40 countries.”
The US is helping countries in Europe to build LNG terminals to boost “energy diversity”. Washington helped Croatia to build an LNG terminal on Krk Island and it is also helping Greece to expand its existing gas infrastructure and build a new LNG terminal at the port of Alexandroupoli, Mr Fannon said.
“The US is committed to energy diversity and energy partnerships because we recognise that these partnerships can lead to more than just commercial gains. We believe they foster, peace, stability and shared progress.”
Mr Fannon also said the Indo-Pacific region will drive most of the world’s energy demand growth through to 2040 and require investment worth trillions of dollars.
“We are helping countries in the region build free, fair [and] transparent energy markets, as well as develop their indigenous energy resources through the State Department-led initiative called Asia Edge," he said.
"We have dedicated over $140 million in technical assistance to support energy security and diversification, access and trade across Indo-Pacific region.”
The currency conundrum
Russ Mould, investment director at online trading platform AJ Bell, says almost every major currency has challenges right now. “The US has a huge budget deficit, the euro faces political friction and poor growth, sterling is bogged down by Brexit, China’s renminbi is hit by debt fears while slowing Chinese growth is hurting commodity exporters like Australia and Canada.”
Most countries now actively want a weak currency to make their exports more competitive. “China seems happy to let the renminbi drift lower, the Swiss are still running quantitative easing at full tilt and central bankers everywhere are actively talking down their currencies or offering only limited support," says Mr Mould.
This is a race to the bottom, and everybody wants to be a winner.
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- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
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UK-EU trade at a glance
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TV: Game will be shown live on BeIN Sports for viewers in the Mena region
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Set-jetting on the Emerald Isle
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Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
