I have recently argued that geopolitical developments would be shaped by resource based securitization. Some events leading towards the validation of these assumptions...
1. Recently, Zimbabwe has attempted to nationalize its mining industry. According to a report by Diamonds.net, ``Under intense pressure from South Africa's mining houses and the International Monetary Fund (IMF,) the Zimbabwe government has been forced to backtrack on its proposal to nationalize mines in the country.”
2. According to a Bloomberg report, Cia. Vale do Rio Doce, the world's largest iron-ore producer said the amount of mining exploration and investment in South America may be overtaken by spending in Asia as companies are lured by the prospect of bigger finds. Asia accounted for 17 percent of global investment in mining exploration last year, from 8.7 percent in 2001, Fabio Masotti, Vale's head of exploration for Asia and Oceania, said at the three-day Annual Asia Mining Congress in Singapore. This increase occurred in the face of ``restrictive mining laws, red tape, social and economic instability'' in many Asian countries, Masotti said in a speech. Rio de Janeiro-based Vale has budgeted $180 million for exploration this year, with more than half of it to be spent outside Brazil, said Masotti.
3. Mexico might even attempt at denationalizing its oil industry! According to this Bloomberg report, ``Mexico risks a drop in oil output unless lawmakers allow for private investment in the industry, according to the chief executive officer of state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos, the world's third-largest producer.
``Pemex, as the company is known, will leave billions of barrels untapped in deep Gulf of Mexico waters and in a costly onshore field without partners to provide technology and share risks, said Pemex CEO Luis Ramirez Corzo. Mexican law allows only Pemex to extract crude and natural gas and to refine oil, barring companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc from investing in the industry.
``The country since 1979 has pumped the majority of its oil from Cantarell, the world's second-biggest field by production, and reinvested little on other deposits, Ramirez said. With Cantarell supply declining for the first time this year, Pemex must emulate state-controlled companies such as Norway's Statoil ASA to drill in more remote areas.
``We're worried,'' Ramirez said in an interview from the 44th floor of Pemex's Mexico City headquarters. ``The problem is that today we have to begin making decisions that affect us 10 years from now.''
No comments:
Post a Comment