Gas is arguably more vulnerable than oil to unforeseen supply interruptions.

And, in many places, oil supplies are declining as old oil fields are depleted.

Remaining oil supplies will be concentrated in the volatile Middle East.

Russian energy managers count on the region s oil and gas supplies to supplement stagnating domestic production.

The 1979 1981 oil crisis is said to reflect the cutoff in oil due to the Iranian Revolution and the Iran Iraq war.

China has managed to secure new hydrocarbon supplies through pipelines from Kazakhstan and Russia.

Indeed, top oil producers are joining the top oil consumers with annual oil consumption growth rates above 5 .

High oil prices also threaten to slow long term productivity growth.

Instability in the Middle East will continue to limit oil supplies, discouraging the expansion of production.

The country imports most energy supplies, especially oil and natural gas and to a large extent depends on Russia as its energy supplier.

It takes a threat to oil supplies to get world leaders to pay attention to Africa.

Oil supply is likely to be vulnerable to political disruptions long before issues arise from overall scarcity of supply.

Few countries are as dependent on the Persian Gulf region s hydrocarbons as is India, which imports almost 80 of its consumption.

Russia s natural gas supplies to Europe play a vital role in this regard, because here, unlike in the case of oil, Russia s bargaining position is very strong.

Efficiencies in energy use are possible, but they cannot solve either the problem of long run oil supplies or climate change.

Thus, the energy of tomorrow could well reinforce the world s democracies and weaken its most repressive regimes, where most oil is to be found nowadays.

Water Supply

In this decade, thanks to record high oil prices, GDP growth rates soared.

Electricity and water supply

But the lesson of 1973 is that a disruption of Gulf oil supplies would raise prices and damage both rich and poor economies, regardless of how secure their own sources of supply might be.

Higher prices for commodity exports, including oil in the case of Papua New Guinea, and increased tourism supported positive growth.

Total energy consumed at all power plants for the generation of electricity was 4,398,768 ktoe (kilo ton of oil equivalent) which was 36 of the total for primary energy sources (TPES) of 2008.

But perhaps what countries really fear is not so much high prices but a total market breakdown and descent into an autarkic Mad Max world in which oil is scarce, no country is willing to allow trade in the oil it produces, and there is no world market clearing price.

There is presently no central electricity or piped water supply anywhere in Liberia.

Even if it were closer to the top, overthrowing Saddam Hussein to ensure oil supplies in 50 years ranks as the least plausible of strategies.

Oil was not the cause of the Iraq War in the simplistic sense that American control of Iraqi oil would make it more secure.

But if the oil price remains at or near 60 a barrel, expect everyone's forecasts of GDP growth to be reduced by 1 per year.

Borders will become harder to cross for both people and goods. And if such actors disrupt the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf, home to two thirds of the world s reserves, a global depression like that of the 1930 s could strengthen protectionism further.

And, as long as oil prices were growing faster than Russian salaries, those in power could still grab a big slice of the profits.

Too many factors remain fuzzy the rate of growth of these countries' energy demand, discoveries of new oil reserves, developments in oil saving technology, and the ultimate replacement of oil by other energy sources.

Having suffered from disruptions in oil and gas supplies following disputes between Russia and Ukraine and then Belarus, the EU s members have finally understood that their survival depends on their capacity to diversify their energy sources.

During the Cold War, America's approach to the Middle East was to foster stability in order to prevent the spread of Soviet influence, ensure the supply of oil, and provide security for Israel.

Should this obstacle be overcome, agriculture in poor countries of the South could play a significant role in revitalizing local economies, and contribute significantly towards the replacement of dwindling crude oil supplies.

But the recent collapse in oil prices could change this dynamic. In refusing to cut its own production, Saudi Arabia seems to be hoping that low oil prices will drive down investment in US shale energy, undermining production growth there.

Oil production continued to expand rapidly in the ESCWA region, rising to 19 billion barrels per day, an increase of 6 per cent over its 2003 level.

In other cases, the Kremlin acts punitively, as when it cut off oil supplies to Lithuania following the sale of the Mazeikiu Nafta refinery to a Polish company, or to Ukraine after its people voted for the wrong party.

Russia occasionally cuts off its gas, and many of its four million people have left the country.

Most economists now believe that Russia cannot maintain annual GDP growth at a rate above 2 without another sustained rise in oil prices.

At the same time, maintaining the flow of funds into the Iraqi oil sector is essential, not only for its growth, but for its very survival.

In other cases, the Kremlin acts punitively, as when it cut off oil supplies to Lithuania following the sale of the Mazeikiu Nafta refinery to a Polish company, or to Ukraine after its people voted for the wrong party.

From the beginning of the bombing campaign in Yemen, US personnel have been assisting the Saudis with targeting information. They fly airborne tankers to refuel Saudi fighter jets between bombing raids. And they assist the Saudi navy with its coastal blockade of Yemen s commercial seaports.

Rapid global demand for electricity, increasing uncertainty in supply and prices of oil and natural gas, and concerns about the greenhouse gas emissions have opened more prospects for the new development of nuclear energy at the global scale.

Today, with oil prices dramatically reduced, this largesse is no longer available, and economic experts agree that the growth potential of Russia s petro economy has been exhausted.

Playing a more effective role by the IAEA in guaranteeing the fuel supply and recognition of the fact that restricting fuel supply would be contrary to the basic obligations of the States parties to the NPT

The Kremlin s political battle to win control of Russia s energy sector has resulted in a dramatic reduction in the growth rate of domestic oil and gas production.