US military bases in Colombia and the dispute over resources

[Judi Lynn]

US military bases in Colombia and the dispute over resources
by Raul Zibechi

18-08-09 The imminent agreement between the United States and Colombia over the use of seven military bases by the Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) forms part of the major dispute over commonly held resources throughout the South American region.

First, a few recent updates:

-- Venezuela has become the number one country in the world in potential oil reserves, following the announcement by the Venezuelan state-owned petroleum company PdVSA that locates an estimated 314 bn barrels in the Orinoco Heavy Oil belt.
According to PdVSA, the findings show Venezuela knocking Saudi Arabia down to number two in the world with 264 bn barrels. <1>

-- Fatih Birol, chief economist of the International Energy Agency (IEA), affirms that the oil crisis will hit much sooner than previously expected.
"The world is heading for a catastrophic energy crunch that could cripple a global economic recovery, as most of the world's major oil fields have passed their peak production." Birol maintains thatthe figures the IEA had previously used were incorrect and he predicts that peak oil production will be reached in 10 years (2020 rather than 2030).

Birol points out, "The first detailed assessment of more than 800 oil fields in the world, covering three-quarters of global reserves, has found that most of the biggest fields have already peaked and that the rate of decline in oil production is now running at nearly twice the pace calculated just two years ago."
The decline in oil production in existing fields is now running at 6.7 % per year compared to the 3.7 % decline the IEA had estimated in 2007. <2>

-- Twenty years ago, China was the 12th largest trading partner with Latin America, with a commercial volume that totalled slightly more than $ 8 bn. Since 2007 China has become the number two partner, more than tripling that figure and recently reaching a volume greater than $ 100 bn. China has been establishing strategic partnerships with Brazil since the 90s, followed by agreements with Venezuela, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Peru.
This year, China has negotiated agreements that would double a development fund in Venezuela to $ 12 bn, lend $ 1 bn to Ecuador for the construction of a hydroelectric plant, give Argentina access to $ 10 bn for several projects, and another $ 10 bn to the Brazilian state-owned oil company.

According to official Brazilian figures, the volume of bilateral trade between Brazil and China reached $ 36.4 bn in 2008, a 55.9 % increase over the previous year. In April of this year, China became Brazil's number one trading partner, usurping the United States.
China's admittance as a donor country within the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) last April (after 15 years of negotiations), was a major indicator of its growing commitment to strengthen relationships in the region. <3>

-- An important turning point has occurred in terms of Brazil's political economy and its relation to the United States. From August 2008 to May of this year, in the midst of the exploding global financial crisis, Brazil reduced its investment in US bonds by 17 % -- the largest reduction made by any of Washington's 15 biggest creditors.

More:
http://www.gasandoil.com/goc/news/ntl94158.htm