Venezuela's Oil to China

I am more and more worried about the geopolitical position of the United States. Today, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that Venezuela has teamed up with China to provide oil for future growth. Venezuela controls the largest oil reserves outside of the Middle East; the country has historically been one of our most reliable energy sources. Today Chavez of Venezuela will be taking over four large oil projects, and in doing so he hopes to sideline the United States in the world energy market. The WSJ reports: “Today’s nationalization ceremony pushes out U.S. companies Exxon Mobil Corp, ConocoPhillips, and Chevron Corp, along with Britian’s BP PLC, France’s Total SA and Norway’s Stanoil ASA” (Luhnow, David and Millard, Peter). Chavez hopes to increase oil exports to its new allies (and American enemies) Iran and China.
The United States other major energy sources include the politically unstable and America-unfriendly Middle East. For obvious reasons this is NOT settling; I am (and if you’re not, you should be) extremely worried about the United States AND its position in the global network. It seems that we have made many enemies. It seems that we have lost our influence and power. I do believe that we are slipping further and further from the role of leader. We need to act and we need to act now.

Luhnow, David and Millard, Peter. Chavez Moves to Reshape Oil Ties. The Wall Street Journal; May 1, 2007.

More about Venezuela's oil takeover can be found online.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1616644,00.html

Suggested Reading: The End of Oil by Paul Roberts (2005)