Exploring the Geopolitics of Energy: A Case Study Analysis Essay

This essay delves into the geopolitics of energy, highlighting the strategic importance of energy resources and their impact on international relations. It examines the shift from non-renewable to renewable energy sources, particularly focusing on the roles of countries like the US and China. The analysis covers the geopolitical implications of renewable energy, including the shift in focus from resource access to infrastructure management, the transfer of strategic leverage to energy consumers, and the potential for reduced geopolitical concerns due to decentralized energy production. The essay also addresses the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources and the need for energy storage solutions, concluding with insights into how renewable energy can reshape geopolitical power dynamics among nations.

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Running head: OIL AND GAS MANAGEMENT

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Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Literature Review............................................................................................................................2
Analysis...........................................................................................................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
Bibliography..................................................................................................................................10
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Introduction
The area of geopolitics has always shown considerable amount of interest regarding energy as
various conventional sources of energy such as coal, air and natural gas comprise of physio
geographical variables which are of utmost strategic importance. In context of geopolitics it is
widely believed that the authority of energy and the energy relation between the different
producer countries with the transit countries and the consumer country are very vital elements
which has the capacity to influence international relations. The location factor1 regarding the
current location of the energy resources and the possible routes via which it can be brought to
various consumer countries comprises a vital area of study within the subject of geopolitics2.
This report focuses on the geo-politics regarding the renewable sources of energy in the future
among the various countries of the world like US and China that are transitioning to renewable
sources of energy from non-renewable sources of energy.
Literature Review
Geopolitics Defined
Geopolitics is defined as the scientific area of study which belongs to both Political geography
and International Relations and it also analyses the relation among politically acting individuals
and their surrounding territory based on three dimensions namely physical-geographical, human-
geographical and spatial. The geo-politics of conventional energy comprises of an entire
literature by itself. The exploration3 and development of conventional sources of energy such as
coal, oil, and natural gas requires high level of capital investments and also requires a military
machine for its controlling. In the current times of increasing scarcity of conventional resources,
the producer countries, the transit countries and the consumer countries are geopolitically
positioning themselves in such a way so that it helps in safeguarding their energy security4.
1 Javed Anwar, and Iftikhar-ul-Husnain Muhammad. "The Role of Renewable Energy Supply and Carbon Tax in the
Improvement of Energy Security: A Case Study of Pakistan/Comments." Pakistan Development Review 53, no. 4
(2014): 360.
2 Ibrahim,S. Arinç, and Özgül Levent Özgül. "Exportation of EastMed Gas Resources: Is it Possible without
Turkey?" Insight Turkey 17, no. 2 (2015): 123
3 Antto Vihma, and Turksen Umut. "THE GEOECONOMICS OF THE SOUTH STREAM PIPELINE
PROJECT." Journal of International Affairs 69, no. 1 (2015).
4 H. Akin. Ünver, "SCHRÖDINGER'S KURDS: TRANSNATIONAL KURDISH GEOPOLITICS IN THE AGE
OF SHIFTING BORDERS." Journal of International Affairs 69, no. 2 (2016).
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Thought it is a fact that location and energy among themselves do not explain everything in
terms of international relations or else one would have slipped into geographic or energetic
determinism, but the way by which various societies shape their mix of energy is pivotal
regarding both of their chances in context to their survival and development. The countries and
regions which have adequate energy at their disposal5 remain in a better potential position than
other countries.
Current Trends
The concept of renewable energy has come into the forefront in the last decade or so due to the
consequence of various combining factors and trends.6 The last couple of decades have quite
remarkably shown us that the burning of non-renewable and conventional energy sources have
contributed to the rise in emission of greenhouse gases, have led to changes in climate, have led
to the degradation of resources and have also led to the exhaustion of natural resources. In
addition to that the entry of a large population of people, mostly from the Asian countries such as
China in the global economic scenario have structurally impacted the demand for energy and
therefore the scarcity of conventional energy sources could become a harsh reality in the coming
years. All the above mentioned elements7 have pushed decision makers of various countries to
make various choices in context of developing more renewable sources of energy and even
turbulent market conditions have influenced the process of development of non-renewable
sources of energy, though it has evolved jerkily in the past couple of years. Further the
international stock market predict a situation of scarcity that can develop8, similar to that of 2008
when a barrel of crude oil reached a record price of $147 in the international market where the
prices of the conventional and non-renewable sources of energy multiplied in a short time period
which created volatility in the market. Therefore due to this factor the renewable and non-
conventional sources of energy tend to become more economic and interesting than conventional
and renewable forms of energy. In 2008, after few months when the prices of energy decreased
5 Damir. Tokic, "Shale Gas: Energy Policy for the Next Wave of Globalization. "The Academy of Business and
Retail Management (ABRM), (2013).
6 Cemal Burak Tansel,. "Geopolitics, Social Forces, and the International: Revisiting the 'Eastern Question'." Review
of International Studies 42, no. 3 (2016): 492-512.
7 Daniel Scholten, and Bosman. Rick "The Geopolitics of Renewables; Exploring the Political Implications of
Renewable Energy Systems." Technological Forecasting and Social Change 103, (2016).
8 Tatyana I Pototskaya,.et al. "Geopolitical Impact on Transformation of Territorial Organization of Russian Pipeline
Transport in the Post-Soviet Time." International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy 6, no. 4 (2016).
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dramatically due to the global economic crisis, a reverse process developed in the then market
which resulted in decrease in investments regarding renewable sources of energy and therefore
this type of dynamics have made the study of renewable energy sources within a broader geo-
political and geo-economical context very complex in nature.
Global Scenario
In spite of the reduction in the production costs of various non-conventional sources of energy
which have decreased greatly so as to help in achieving substantial level of penetration in the
market but still it requires the assistance of various government policies such as carbon pricing,
direct subsidies, feed-in tariffs and regulations for required usage of renewable sources of
energy9. The presence of such climate friendly policies in the country greatly helps in reducing
the demand of conventional and non-renewable sources of energy which helps in reducing the
prices of coal, gas and oil produces that are paid regarding these products. The stringency and
timing10 of the climate policy will tend to affect the equilibrium of geo- political power11 between
producers of non-conventional sources of energy and producers of conventional sources of
energy. As a consequence neither the producers of the conventional sources of energy nor the
producers of the non-conventional sources of energy display much certainty regarding the
direction of the future policies of the government and regarding whether they are likely to
experience penalties or support from the government.12
Analysis
Current geo-political scenario of non-conventional energy sources
There are various observations which are being noted regarding the geo-politics of renewable
energy sources compared to non-renewable energy resources. The first observation which has
been noted regarding geo-politics of renewable sources is that the renewable sources of energy
shifts the focus from getting access to resources and raw materials to strategic management of
9 Christian. Ploberger, "One Belt, One Road - China's New Grand Strategy." Journal of Chinese Economic and
Business Studies (2017): 295
10 Saviolakis I Panagiotis,. and Georgia Pazarzi. "Transportation of Energy Resources in the Middle East and Central
Asia." International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy 3, (2013):
11Meghan O'Sullivan, et al. . The Geopolitics of Renewable Energy. St. Louis: Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis,
(2017).
12 Elias G Carayannis,.,etal.. "Sustainable Development of the Russian Arctic Zone Energy Shelf: The Role of the
Quintuple Innovation Helix Model." Journal of the Knowledge Economy 8, no. 2 (2017): 456-470.
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infrastructure13. The second observation which has been noted regarding geo-politics of
renewable sources is that the non-conventional sources of energy transfer their strategic leverage
from the producers of the energy sources to the consumers of the energy sources and to the
countries which are able to provide storage and balancing services. The third observation which
has been observed regarding geo-politics of renewable sources is that in the non-conventional
sources of energy dominated system, most of the countries remain not only the producer of the
energy but also they become the consumer of those sources of energy and as a result the need
regarding energy imports may tend to significantly reduce any types of geo-political concerns.
It is a proven fact that renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar resources are more
abundant in number than non-renewable sources of energy such as fossil fuels but the presence
of non-conventional sources of energy greatly differs among various countries and regions as the
availability of such non-conventional sources of energy greatly depends on the climate and
latitude of those countries14 and regions and for this reason the cost of non-conventional forms of
energy such as solar energy and wind energy tends to differ substantially15. Based on the
development of transition lines16, the difference in cost of the non-conventional energy resources
tends to potentially develop a situation which is similar to the modern day fossil world
dominated era where the low cost producers of the energy sources enjoys greater geo-political
power which can also lead to re-distribution of energy centers within countries and in between
various countries.17 As a result of its intermittent nature, the non-conventional and renewable
sources of energy require storage of energy which can arrive from various sources such as
batteries, large scale hydro-water resources or pumped storage form of hydroelectricity.18
State of countries regarding non-conventional energy sources
13 MICHAEL. COOK, "The Long-Term Geopolitics of the Pre-Modern Middle East." Journal of the Royal Asiatic
Society 26, no. 1-2 (2016): 37
14 M DENT CHRISTOPHER,. "Understanding the Energy Diplomacies of East Asian States." Modern Asian
Studies 47, no. 3 (2013): 955
15 Simone Di Zio, and Maretti Mara. "Acceptability of Energy Sources using an Integration of the Delphi Method
and the Analytic Hierarchy Process." Quality and Quantity 48, no. 6 (2014): 2985
16 Ali Bagheri Dolatabadi, and Abediny Kashkoiyeh Hasan. "Recent Developments in the Geopolitics of Energy and
their Effects on the Political and Economic Future of the Middle East Countries." International Journal of Economic
Perspectives 11, no. 2 (2017): 253
17 Radu Dudau, and Catalina Nedelcu. Alexandra "Energy Security: Between Markets and Sovereign
Politics." Management & Marketing 11, no. 3 (2016): 550
18 Andreas Østhagen,. "Geopolitics and Security in the Arctic: What Role for the EU?" European View 16, no. 2
(2017): 241
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Renewable and non-conventional sources of energy are more decentralized in nature when
compared to conventional and non-renewable sources of energy19. An interconnected network of
renewable energy when combined with smart grids could potentially become more reliant and
demands the potential for rejuvenation of the society in the sense that it has the capacity to
empower individuals and the regional authorities of a country with regards to the central
governments and their interests. The countries which invest heavily in development of renewable
sources of energy have the potential to become major players of the world in this regard. The
countries such as the US and the China invest heavily in the development of renewable sources
of energy and therefore have the potential to become the major players in the market and as
renewable sources of energy are growing and gaining higher percentage of the energy mixes in
all countries, therefore it has the potential to alter their geopolitical positions among other
countries. The countries like US and China which enjoy vital positions in context of geopolitics
in the world of conventional resources will enjoy similar positions such as Saudi Arabia, as the
demand and popularity of conventional resources will increase among the various countries of
the world20, and therefore the geo-political relations among the various countries in the world is
bound to be affected. In spite of the ability of renewable sources of energy to alter the geo-
political relations between the various countries of the world there are also certain issues which
do not work in favor of renewable sources of energy such as bigger projects regarding non-
conventional sources of energy suffer more security issues than conventional sources of energy.
Problems faced regarding non-conventional sources
The geo-politics regarding non-conventional sources of energy also give rise to various
opportunities and threats which are geo-technical in nature.21 One of the most important
problems which will be faced by various countries such as US and China is concerns regarding
the issues of rare earth materials which are required for technological advancements regarding
conventional energy sources. According to various eminent researchers, the green geo-political
catastrophes may look same to those which are associated with the conventional energy
19 Michael Narodoslawsky,. "Favennec, JP: The Geopolitics of Energy." Energy, Sustainability and Society 3, no. 1
(2013): 1.
20 Nalin Kumar Mohapatra,. "Energy Security Paradigm, Structure of Geopolitics and International Relations
Theory: From Global South Perspectives." GeoJournal82, no. 4 (2017): 695
21 Chen. Mo, "The Transnationalization Strategy of Chinese Oil Companies: Case Studies of Sudan and Saudi
Arabia." Perspectives on Global Development and Technology 13, no. 5-6 (2014): 613.
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sources22. In this regards it can be stated that though there might be green protectionism in the
countries belonging to the western world, but also the conditions of the country which produces
oil can be an area of problem in an era where the demand for renewable and non-conventional
sources of energy are fast growing in nature. In most probability, the geopolitics regarding
conventional sources of energy and the non-conventional sources of energy will co-exist
simultaneously for upcoming few decades and therefore the decision makers of the energy sector
of the countries like US and China needs to be more creative23 in nature in order to try to cancel
out the drawbacks of one energy sources with the advantage of the other source of energy. In the
above mentioned context, the geopolitics regarding energy sources is bound to get more complex
in nature as the policy makers will have to deal with a host of issues regarding foreign policy,
international security and diplomacy. Therefore, instead of approaching the geo-political issue in
antithetical terms, decision makers should focus on more systematic approaches regarding the
study of geo-politics, energy and transition of power.
As various countries around the world sch as US and China are adopting more non-conventional
sources of energy, the producers, consumers and the government of these countries have got
stuck and are therefore making decisions surrounded24 with multiple uncertainties regarding the
decisions which will affect which sources of energy will take center stage in order to dominate
the future. Similarly the energy producers which are low carbon in nature focuses on winning
political allies in order to advocate the need for treatment which will be preferential in nature of
their technologies through various forms such as tax credit, loan guarantees, investment tax
credit renewable power mandates25 and so on. It is mostly observed that these preferential
treatments are hard to remove once they are being introduced, regarding installation of renewable
sources which have changed in a dramatic manner26.
22Luksa Lulic, Kurecic, Petar, and Kozina Goran. "THE INFLUENCE OF OIL EXPORTS' DEPENDENCE ON
CORRUPTION AND POLITICAL FREEDOMS IN THE COUNTRIES OF THE GULF OF GUINEA
REGION."Varazdin Development and Entrepreneurship Agency (VADEA), (2015).
23Petar Kurecic,. "GEOECONOMIC AND GEOPOLITICAL CONFLICTS: OUTCOMES OF THE
GEOPOLITICAL ECONOMY IN A CONTEMPORARY WORLD." World Review of Political Economy 6, no. 4
( 2015): 541
24 Matej Korcek, and Mothana Obadi.Saleh "OIL PRICES - ANALYSES OF ORIGINS AND IMPLICATIONS OF
CURRENT DEVELOPMENT."Varazdin Development and Entrepreneurship Agency (VADEA), (2015).
25 Ioannis Vidakis Karkazis, John, , and Baltos Georgios. "The Syrian Energy Policies of the "Four Seas" and their
Geopolitical Repercussions/Suriye'Nin "Dört Deniz" Enerji Politikalari Ve Bu Politikalarin Jeopolitik
Yansimalari." Sosyoekonomi no. 2 (2014): 228
26 Ivan A Kapitonov,., et al."Green Energy Revolution Perspectives in Modern Russian Economy." International
Journal of Economic Perspectives 10, no. 3 (2016): 168
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During the transition period from high carbon energy to low carbon energy, various countries
and regions requires to take multiple decisions without the required amount of substantial27
interest in implementing new forms of technology with possible large implications which are
geo-political in nature.28 Despite multiple uncertainties and few backward actions in context of
development of conventional energy resources by various countries, there is no doubt regarding
the balance of power regarding geopolitical energy which is moving from the owners of fossil
fuels to the countries which are keen on developing non-conventional low carbon solutions. For
instance, China is seeking to become a global leader in providing nuclear, wind and solar
technologies by using them in a domestic manner and also by building their capacity regarding
exporting them to other countries29. Globally, it is observed that the support of the government of
a country regarding production of low carbon energies at times results in the creation of price
war regarding the price of solar and wind generation equipment.30 For instance in 2013 also, the
EU imposed strict guidelines and restrictions regarding anti-subsidy and anti-dumping measures
regarding import of panels and solar cells from China and in 2016, the EU further extended their
measures on Chinese transshipment such as Taiwan and Malaysia.31
The geo-politics of renewable and conventional energy resources though resembles the post-
Cold war world, in which in majority of the times everyone was unknown and unclear about the
next challenge likely to occur, the form which the challenge will assume or its source of
inception32. The current players of the current renewable and non-conventional sources of energy
are numerous in nature and are also de-centralized in nature.33 As the current players in the
renewable energy sources engage in negotiation process regarding the resources required, the
27 Maha. Kamal, "DYNAMICS OF NATURAL GAS PRICING: THE CRITICAL NEED FOR A NATURAL GAS
HUB IN SOUTH ASIA." Journal of International Affairs 69, no. 1 (2015): 70-VIII.
28 Amy Myers Jaffe, and Elass Jareer. "WAR AND THE OIL PRICE CYCLE." Journal of International Affairs 69,
no. 1 (2015): 121-VIII.
29 Oliver R. Inderwildi, and King David A.. "Energy Shift: Decline of Easy Oil and Restructuring of Geo-
Politics." Frontiers in Energy 10, no. 3 (2016): 262
30 Aigerim, Dmitriy V Ibrayeva,. "Importance of the Caspian Countries for the European Union Energy
Security." International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy 8, no. 3 (2018): 156
31 Hanno Focken,. "BETWEEN NATIONAL INTERESTS AND THE GREATER GOOD: STRUGGLING
TOWARDS A COMMON EUROPEAN UNION ENERGY POLICY IN THE CONTEXT OF CLIMATE
CHANGE." Journal of International Affairs 69, no. 1 (2015): 179-VII.
32 Aaron Yao Efui Ahali, and Ackah Ishmael. "Are they Predisposed to the Resources Curse? Oil in
Somalia." International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy5, no. 1 (2015): 235
33 Global Data Ltd. “International Renewable Energy Agency - Power - Deals and Alliances Profile.” London:
Global Data Ltd, (2018). https://search.proquest.com/docview/2042691103?accountid=30552.
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technology to be implemented, the transmission lines to be followed34 and when more
government organizations and more players in the industry have a lot to learn regarding
navigation of the transition of the energy even when the policies which helps in determining the
change remain highly uncertain in nature.35
Conclusion
From the above report it is clear and evident that the renewable r conventional sources of energy
will determine the future geo-political relations between the various countries which is currently
dominated and influenced due to fossil fuels. From the above report it can be also stated that the
countries which have invested heavily in the development of non-conventional sources are likely
to remain in an advantageous position than other countries regarding the domination of geo-
political relationships between various countries.
34 Sirri Uyanik "The Future Role of Renewables in Turkey’s Electricity Supply Security." International Journal of
Energy Economics and Policy 8, no. 5 (2018): 89-96. https://search.proquest.com/docview/2116337428?
accountid=30552.
35 The International Economy. "What are the Chances the United States Becomes Energy Independent?" The
International Economy 27, no. 4 (2013): 37-49. https://search.proquest.com/docview/1470423584?
accountid=30552.
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