Russia played a card of energy

    Although Russia has fully participated G8 as early as several years, it was the first time for Russia to preside G8 Summit as host and it is caused special attention. Since one of the vital duties as Amphitryon was to decide conference topics, Russia president Putin must have taken deep consideration before chose energy safety issue as an important topic.

    In G8, Russia is of the weakest economic strength. However, it plays a decisive role in energy issue. Presently, the daily output of base oil in Russia is more than 9,500,000 barrels and imports about 7,000,000 barrels. Russia is the biggest petroleum importing country only inferior to Saudi Arabian. With respect of natural gas, Russia is more likely to be a principal energy country: it possesses 32% of the global proved natural gas reserves and ranks first in the world. But what is more important is that Russia is the largest natural gas importing country in the world, the neighboring countries and even Western European countries highly rely on natural gas supply by Russia.

    It indicated in an essay "Energy Diplomatism Impacts on Global Order" in Financial Times of England: "In spite of its declining nuclear weapons, petroleum and natural gas gave Moscow access to G8 negotiation." The essay also indicated that Russia president Putin supposed to reach two goals: firstly, set up a reliable energy supplier of Russia for the west and strive for cooperation in the field of petroleum and gas resources with the west; secondly, show its abundant petroleum and gas resources to the west, in order to improve Russia's position and influence in geography politics and international political and economic pattern.

    President Putin didn't conceal anything about playing an energy card. He definitely said before the Summit that it was very natural for Russia carries forward its national policy by means of energy resources. The natural crisis occurred at the beginning of this year in Russia and Ukraine was regarded by the west as an evident signal of Russia using energy as "foreign policy tool". Due to Ukraine was a main transit country for Russia's natural gas pipeline transporting to Europe, this crisis rang an alarm bell for the west countries relying on natural gas of Russia for long.

    Bifurcation under "energy safety"

    Although the western countries are always tightly connecting petroleum with foreign policy, they seemed difficult to adapt the Russia’s energy weapon. During the visit to Lithuanian at the beginning of May this year, vice president Cheney of America denounced Russia to adopt petroleum and natural gas to extort and intimidate the neighboring countries. Furthermore, in consideration of declining dependence on the petroleum of Middle East, America wishes all the time to dip a finger in Russia's petroleum and gas resources. Consequently, America continually presses against Russia in hopes of Russia changing the policy of prohibiting foreign capital from holding shares in its large petroleum and gas fields.

    About a quarter of natural gas of European Union is from Russia for the moment, so European Union responds more fiercely and more complicatedly to the topic of energy safety. On the one hand, European Union proposed "European Union common energy policy" at EU Summit of this spring, expecting to strengthen energy safety by means of energy-saving, developing substitute energy, especially building petroleum and gas pipelines away from those of Russia's and other diversified importing strategies; on the other hand, from the point of geography and economy and other realistic factors, European Union also deeply understands that it is impossible to get rid off dependence on Russia' energy in a long time, so it strongly urges Russia to authorize "Energy Charter" and open its petroleum and gas resources to the western capital.

    Obviously, Russia takes a rare dominant position to the West in energy issue. Among the 7 western countries of G8, except Canada has rich petroleum and gas resources, the rest 6 countries all highly rely on import and this dependence is increasing continuously. According to estimation, up to 2020, the importing petroleum proportion of America will increase from 58% presently to 75%, while the natural gas market share of Russia in the European Union market will increase from 25% presently to 60% in 2030.

     Therefore, it is not difficult to understand why energy safety becomes the most important topic at G8 Summit. However, as what the trade commissioner of European Union Mandelson said:" although everyone is talking about energy safety, the difference is that we need supply safety, while Russia needs demand safety." For avoidance of sharp rise and fall in demand, Russia seeks to develop new market in the Asia-Pacific region on one hand, so as to realize export diversification; on the other hand, Russia tries to enter into the retail market of petroleum and gas in west Europe by acquisition. In recent days, Russian Natural gas Industry Company was suffocated in acquiring English natural gas company, which suggested that the West still keeps a watchful eye on Russia's energy strategy.