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Posted on 01/12/2014 6:00:03 AM PST by Dartman
Saudi Arabia has noticed Canada’s booming oil and gas industry — and they don’t like what they see.
You could even say they’re scared.
That’s the panicky message in a 14-page memo written to Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry by Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, an influential member of the Saudi royal family.
He desperately warns them that Saudi Arabia’s energy dominance is at risk, including from oil and gas developments in western democracies.
And he mentions Canada by name.
Al-Waleed isn’t just another pundit or oil-rich Arab sheikh. He’s an international tycoon who has built a vast empire of holdings, including large stakes in Twitter, Four Seasons hotels and other prestigious western companies.
But he’s also a prince. And when he speaks to the western media he often uses the word “we.” As in, he speaks for more than just himself, if not quite for the Saudi king.
Which is why his memo should be studied closely by Canadian diplomats, oil and gas executives, and CSIS.
Here are some excerpts, translated from the original Arabic:
“In addition to the many discoveries of oil and gas in the U.S., Canada and Australia, there are also great discoveries of shale gas, which will lead to a reduction of consumption of our oil,” Al-Waleed writes.
That’s a clear reference to Alberta’s oilsands, as well as the fracking-led natural gas boom across the west — and possibly one day soon in New Brunswick.
“But I do not see any plan of the state on this matter,” continues Al-Waleed.
“The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has a great responsibility to bring these fateful issues to a discussion, debate and internal dialogue, but to this day it has not been done.”
The prince thinks the kingdom is in denial, hoping that fracking and the oilsands — and the competition to OPEC that they represent — will just go away.
For 40 years Saudi Arabia has had the west over a barrel, controlling the price of oil through its market dominance and its use of the OPEC cartel. But oilsands and fracking put that in jeopardy.
As Al-Waleed notes, 92% of Saudi Arabia’s revenues are from oil and gas.
Take that away, and the kingdom — and his family’s luxurious perch — face an existential threat.
Al-Waleed said these technologies aren’t a risk today. But they could be very soon:
“At the moment there are no risks to the Saudi economy as a result of the production of this type of gas. But we were also hoping that your Highness would shed a light and focus on the seriousness of this matter sooner than later, especially since the United States and some Asian countries have made great discoveries in the extraction of shale gas, which inevitably will have an effect on the global oil industry in general and Saudi Arabia in particular.”
Al-Waleed mentions Canadian energy again. Along with the words “the threat.”
“We believe that the threat is inevitably coming from shale gas, which (its production) is increased at high rates in the U.S. and Canada ... For us the issue is clear and it requires swift actions.”
What swift actions would those be?
Saudi Arabia already pumps millions of dollars into Canadian mosques, ensuring that Canadian imams preach the extremist Wahhabi interpretation of Islam favoured by the likes of Osama bin Laden.
Saudi Arabia has a vigourous presence in Ottawa, not just through their embassy but through a phalanx of government relations consultants.
And, of course, in countries like Syria, Saudi Arabia pursues its interests by funding armed jihadists.
So what might Saudi Arabia’s “swift actions” include in Canada?
Hopefully not eco-terrorism.
But given the panicky tone of this high-ranking Saudi prince, and his dictatorship’s penchant for buying influence, it’s probably worth asking Canadian environmental lobbyists if they receive any funding from OPEC to fight Canadian oil and gas.
Perhaps it’s a question Foreign Minister John Baird might put to Al-Waleed or the Saudi ambassador.
We know who are friends are.
ping
I’m convince we have the resources to use oil and especially natural gas as an economic weapon to eliminate OPEC’s influence and deny Russia the income to rearm and rebuild their military. The icing on the cake is the restriction of funding for terrorism.
We could set off a downward spiral in oil prices.
Poosy.
They can sell plenty of their oil to China
Even though they may lose their dominance over oil/gas...the Moslems have been very smart to start using Sharia Banking as a holding ground element...it might not be as lucrative as oil - but it could sustain these evil empires and allow them to survive and continue their jihad into Western nations...
May they encounter the same level of warmth and sensitivity that they have shown the West.
We should have nuked these goat-humping a-holes after 9-11 but if they have to die a slow death or be overthrown and hung up on lamp posts by the slaves they import from other countries to scrub their toilets, I guess I'll have to settle for that.
Yeah, and the Sauds are NOT our friends...
“We know who are friends are.”
There is no such thing. There is not one Muslim country
or single Muslim alive that is an ally of America. Islam
is right up there with Obama and his fellow communists as
the biggest enemies to this country. They are probably
planning another 911 type event right now and Obama and Kerry
are surfing YouTube right now for a video to blame it on.
I don’t want to see too much of a downward spiral...
The good prices right now keep American oil companies searching for and pumping oil and natural gas right here in the good ‘ole USA... spiraling down too much would kill the goose that laid the golden egg.
You are right. The Chinese could occupy the mid-east to protect their new ‘investment.’
That is correct.
The problem the man sees is that the non oil 8% of the economy does not grow. That is, he fears that the coming decline will not be mitigated by growth in other areas of the Saudi economy. His message is to his countrymen to develop other economic assets
let Em Pound Sand! ! ! ! ! !
Back in the old days, when new oil threatened old the Sauds used to cut the price. With all the new sources and methods I’ve been waiting for the cartel to do the old thing.
They can plant KUDZU. . . . .
1. Iran (and by proxy Iraq) is trying to negotiate an end its enmity with the Western world. If they succeed, that could open up gigantic oil and natural gas fields with the help of Western petroleum companies that are way under-exploited in Iran and Iraq--and these are potentially much bigger than found along the south shore of the Persian Gulf.
2. China is finally starting to open up the natural gas and oil fields in Xinjiang Autonomous Region, another place where it is way under-exploited until now.
3. Japan is looking at "mining" methane hydrates from the ocean floor off the coast of Japan (there is a lot of methane hydrates in the shallow ocean near Japan). If they succeed, that could mean Japan could convert all its power plants to use clean burning compressed natural gas processed from methane hydrates, and that could mean a lot less crude oil sales from the OPEC countries.
4. There is now very serious research into molten-salt reactor (MSR) nuclear reactors that use thorium-232 dissolved in molten fluoride salts as fuel. That could mean a very safe form of nuclear power with a fuel supply lasting thousands of years.
In short, Adam Smith's invisible hand is about to do a judo chop on the Saudi economy, no thanks to the Saudis' attempt to keep crude oil price high resulting in alternatives becoming very economically viable.
soetoro has received his orders. Look for more obstructionism of American petroleum development from the little islamist.
Bin Talal is also the guy who is rumored to have paid for Obama's Harvard education, such as it was.
And on a really sour note, the prince is the third largest stockholder in the Fox News (News Corp) with a 6.6 percent stake. Source
Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal is FAR more than just "influential".
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