Saturday, July 22, 2006
Israel - The gate to the far east
Israel is increasing its oil import from Azerbaijan.
So ?
Look at the map and ask yourself, why is the route from Azerbayjan to India is so long? First the oil flows in the PTC pipeline from Azerbaijan through Georgia to Turkey. From there in large tankers oil can be shipped to Israeli's oil port in Ashkelon. From Ashkelon the oil flows in pipes until it reaches the southern city of Eilat. There, again by tankers to India and China that need oil so badly for their growing economy.
Stratfor explains that Russia uses its oil export for political negotiations. And the US has succeeded in creating reliable oil route that bypasses Rusia.
US alies also benefit from the new arrangement. Azerbaijan and Georgia can really use the money from taxing the oil pipeline, and Israel (at last) benefits from its strategic location.
