Posted on 01/12/2014 6:00:03 AM PST by Dartman
Saudi Arabia has noticed Canada’s booming oil and gas industry — and they don’t like what they see.
You could even say they’re scared.
That’s the panicky message in a 14-page memo written to Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry by Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, an influential member of the Saudi royal family.
He desperately warns them that Saudi Arabia’s energy dominance is at risk, including from oil and gas developments in western democracies.
And he mentions Canada by name.
Al-Waleed isn’t just another pundit or oil-rich Arab sheikh. He’s an international tycoon who has built a vast empire of holdings, including large stakes in Twitter, Four Seasons hotels and other prestigious western companies.
But he’s also a prince. And when he speaks to the western media he often uses the word “we.” As in, he speaks for more than just himself, if not quite for the Saudi king.
Which is why his memo should be studied closely by Canadian diplomats, oil and gas executives, and CSIS.
Here are some excerpts, translated from the original Arabic:
“In addition to the many discoveries of oil and gas in the U.S., Canada and Australia, there are also great discoveries of shale gas, which will lead to a reduction of consumption of our oil,” Al-Waleed writes.
That’s a clear reference to Alberta’s oilsands, as well as the fracking-led natural gas boom across the west — and possibly one day soon in New Brunswick.
“But I do not see any plan of the state on this matter,” continues Al-Waleed.
“The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has a great responsibility to bring these fateful issues to a discussion, debate and internal dialogue, but to this day it has not been done.”
The prince thinks the kingdom is in denial, hoping that fracking and the oilsands — and the competition to OPEC that they represent — will just go away.
For 40 years Saudi Arabia has had the west over a barrel, controlling the price of oil through its market dominance and its use of the OPEC cartel. But oilsands and fracking put that in jeopardy.
As Al-Waleed notes, 92% of Saudi Arabia’s revenues are from oil and gas.
Take that away, and the kingdom — and his family’s luxurious perch — face an existential threat.
Al-Waleed said these technologies aren’t a risk today. But they could be very soon:
“At the moment there are no risks to the Saudi economy as a result of the production of this type of gas. But we were also hoping that your Highness would shed a light and focus on the seriousness of this matter sooner than later, especially since the United States and some Asian countries have made great discoveries in the extraction of shale gas, which inevitably will have an effect on the global oil industry in general and Saudi Arabia in particular.”
Al-Waleed mentions Canadian energy again. Along with the words “the threat.”
“We believe that the threat is inevitably coming from shale gas, which (its production) is increased at high rates in the U.S. and Canada ... For us the issue is clear and it requires swift actions.”
What swift actions would those be?
Saudi Arabia already pumps millions of dollars into Canadian mosques, ensuring that Canadian imams preach the extremist Wahhabi interpretation of Islam favoured by the likes of Osama bin Laden.
Saudi Arabia has a vigourous presence in Ottawa, not just through their embassy but through a phalanx of government relations consultants.
And, of course, in countries like Syria, Saudi Arabia pursues its interests by funding armed jihadists.
So what might Saudi Arabia’s “swift actions” include in Canada?
Hopefully not eco-terrorism.
But given the panicky tone of this high-ranking Saudi prince, and his dictatorship’s penchant for buying influence, it’s probably worth asking Canadian environmental lobbyists if they receive any funding from OPEC to fight Canadian oil and gas.
Perhaps it’s a question Foreign Minister John Baird might put to Al-Waleed or the Saudi ambassador.
the Saudis are not our friends
Very insightful and encouraging
I can’t wait for the Adam Smith chop
Actions = increasing campaign contributions to democrats.
He will miss being able to buy solid silver automobiles
Bump.
That is why conservatives really, really need to continue to develop conservative news sources.
Fox is good, but not great. And the Prince’s holdings are large enough to muffle some news.
We are still far too dependent on a very limited number of news sources.
Keep working on this, please.
Which is another reason why Saudi-backed al-Qaeda is in Syria, trying to topple Assad.
A stable Syria could provide a way for Iranian and Iraqi oil and gas to reach a port on the Mediterranean, and thence to Europe.
It is probably very ture that if Saudi Oil becomes less profitable their entire economy will collapse and the Saudi Shieks will lose power.
This would let the Muslim Brotherhood take power - which would be very very bad...
But they have ONLY HAD 50 YEARS OF OBSCENE WEALTH to do something about it... They could have developed their countries far beyond anything they have done
The Chinese are going frack-happy on their own. Within ten years, they may be energy self-sufficient, thanks to US technology and American contractors.
The more, the merrier. I would think that if more countries would begin refining their own resources, the price would have to fall.
Sharia investing is a potent a form of economic manipulation similar to the oil cartel idea but it is not as easily controllable as the spigot emanating from the ground in country. Oil is still king of the roost in terms of political power and the power it gives to the House of Saud in terms of their ability to maintain power in the Arabian peninsula.
See here
The problem the man sees is that the non oil 8% of the economy does not grow. That is, he fears that the coming decline will not be mitigated by growth in other areas of the Saudi economy. His message is to his countrymen to develop other economic assets
Please correct me if I’m wrong. But don’t the arabs in general have a pretty miserable record (Over the last 100 years or more), in developing new industries or businesses of any sort without outside ‘help’?
Even their vaunted oil company, wells and production facilities were built by outside companies and were ‘taken over’ starting in 1982 and finished in 1988.
Also from experience and reading I believe that most Saudi’s think of themselves as ‘managers’ and wouldn’t ever think of sullying their hands with work. That’s why they import millions of people from other ‘Islamic Countries’ to do the work for them.
Yep. And from what I hear, every word of that is true.
Saudi Arabia was never our friends. If they were, they would use their power to stop TERRORISM. With our own resources, we could tell the Terrorists to go pound sand. We need to tell them (the Saudis) that if they want our $$$, they need to recongize Israel. If they don’t, F them.
Good. The Sons of Ishmael need to go back to their nomadic existence to which they excelled at for thousands of years. Westernizing them has only embittered them towards us.
There is more than one way for Saudi Arabia to cope with fracking. One way is to develop other aspects of their economy. This would not be easy, because Saudi Arabia has pretty much nothing going for it beyond petroleum—unless they plan to market sand (theirs is poor quality BTW).
The other way to deal with fracking is to fund the anti-fracking, predominately leftist, forces. They can’t stop the technology of course, but they could influence western governments to essentially cut their own throats by banning or heavily restricting fracking.
It may have to do with their culture in general ( see Shame, the Arab Psyche, and Islam ) and specifically with their tendency with being obsessed with "saving face" and being reluctant to admit to being wrong, which makes it hard to resolve problems.
I've dealt with Saudi military officers. They make pretty miserable managers.
I believe you are correct. More Westerners are there working for Aramco then Saudis. They import 3rd world citizens to be housekeepers. If the West had any balls, we should get our citizens out of there and tell our ‘friends’, to F themselves.
He’s also the guy who Giuliani told to stick his $10M check up his ass after 9-11 when he lectured us about our foreign policy.
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