China’s energy security policy in relation to the Myanmar-China crude oil pipeline project : How China’s non-interference principle and pipeline diplomacy can bring crude oil imports at risk

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2014-08-06
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en
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Lipstick, glue, and earphones seem not related at all, but nothing is further from the truth. These three products have one thing in common: they are all produced from crude oil. These three are just a random selection from a list with plenty more products we use in daily life that are made of crude oil. Besides that crude oil is the base of many products, it is also a major driver of countries’ industry and manufacturing sectors, as oil is the fuel for machines and vehicles. Although oil is thus of major importance for the development of every country in the world, oil sources are not equally divided. For instance, the twelve countries that are members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have 81 per cent of all proven crude oil reserves in the world, of which 66 per cent are situated in the Middle East (OPEC, 2013). This unequal division is one of the reasons countries create strategies in order to secure their access to oil. These strategies form the energy security policy of countries. Energy security policies are not merely limited to oil (Yergin, 2006, p. 70), but this study focuses on crude oil only.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen