France's Le Monde: Why does Trump want Venezuela's oil?
After the US military action against Venezuela, President Trump did not hide his interest in Venezuela's oil resources. Trump stated that one of his main goals is to restart oil production in Venezuela by American companies. Why are these resources so important for the United States?
Who controls energy, controls the world
Economist Lucas Chancel, who recently published a book titled "Energy and Inequality: A Political History" (Énergie et inégalités. Une histoire politique), said to France's Le Monde that Trump clearly knows: whoever controls energy, controls the world. Chancel said that what is truly new is not the US intervention itself, but the change in the global energy landscape, that is, cheap oil resources are increasingly depleted, especially in the US. This is precisely why this event has become a turning point in the 21st century.
Chancel said that the president obviously realizes that we live in a world with limited resources. Trump made it very clear at a press conference: he said that the goal of this action is to ensure that American multinational companies can gain energy benefits. Although Trump often seems ridiculous, his actions are highly logical.
Many listeners know that the US has already been the world's largest oil producer since the large-scale development of shale oil in the 2010s.
However, the issue is that the cost of US oil production is constantly rising. Currently, the cost per barrel is about $70, and it may rise to $95 in the 2030s. The investment required to develop new oil wells is increasing in terms of resources and energy, which means that many new projects at home have little room for profit, or even no profit at all. That is why Venezuela's oil is attractive: Venezuela not only has huge reserves, possibly the largest in the world, but its oil is relatively easy to extract. Of course, developing Venezuela's oil still requires a lot of investment, but there are no real technical difficulties.
It is also worth noting that Trump's way of speaking: Trump said that we will extract Venezuela's oil, and in exchange, we require payment for the "services" we provide. Chancel pointed out that this is a typical imperialist, exploitative logic, similar to the "home charges" system implemented by Britain on its colonies in the past.
Postponing the depreciation of US fossil fuel assets
Chancel said that Trump's actions essentially aim to delay as much as possible the depreciation of US fossil fuel assets. Fundamentally, it is a protection of the interests of American oil companies under active state support. Trump's denial of climate change makes him a firm defender of fossil fuel interests, which also explains his opposition to wind power and solar panels, as well as his efforts to extend the life of the "oil economy" as much as possible.
What can Europeans do?
In this context, what can Europeans do? The main oil-producing countries today are the US, Saudi Arabia, and Russia, and Europeans find it difficult to regard them as reliable allies...
On this, Chancel said that what Trump advocates is a return to 19th-century "limited capitalism," as described by historian and economist Arnaud Orain. Europe cannot choose this path: if it continues to bet on oil and gas, it is equivalent to self-destruction.
Fortunately, we now have other solutions to free ourselves from oil dependence and produce energy. Europe can definitely look to the future: instead of plundering the oil underground of neighboring countries, it should vigorously develop renewable energy. This concerns independence and sovereignty. For Europe, the urgent task is: it must accelerate the energy transition, support the wind power industry in Europe, promote the development of electric vehicles, rebuild the production system of solar panels, and invest in low-carbon technologies to free itself from dependence on fossil fuels.
Source: rfi
US troops capture the President of Venezuela
Original: toutiao.com/article/1853628216173643/
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