IN TRIVANDRUM PRESS CLUB 20 th OCTOBER 2011 N.NANDHIVARMAN

NARENDRA SINGH THEN v/s MANMOHAN MODI : BOTH SIDES OF SAME COIN

MAKE AMARTHYA SEN FINANCE MINISTER

SACK CHIDAMBARAM

Today the meeting of Oil Producing and Exporting Countries is taking place initiated by Saudi Arabia which was pressurized by G-8 and others to ponder over stabilizing the oil prices. The panacea Saudi Arabia offers is a hike of 6 percent of its oil production, hoping other countries will follow suit. We are of the opinion that this will not work. The rising prices of oil and petroleum products could not be arrested. Why do we opine so, let me record our views.

1. Saudi Arabia is not, as many may be thinking, the largest producer of oil. Russia stands first, and there is no hope that Russian President will play the Saudi Arabian tune of increasing oil production.

2. The worlds largest 20 oil fields were all discovered between 1917 and 1979 and the annual output from these oil fields is falling by 4 million barrels per day, says a Report of Earth Policy Institute. Taking into account country specific data details and projections, German based Energy Watch Group concludes that world oil production has peaked. It will also decline by 7 percent a year falling to 58 million barrels per day in 2020.

3. The year our former President A.P.J.Abdul Kalam predicted to be a turning point to make India a super power, 2020, will make India run from pillar to post begging for oil. The begging for oil is going to be the order of this century, and there has to be introspection.

4. Venezuela, the fifth largest producer of oil had declined to attend the Summit of OPEC called by Saudi Arabia. It opines cosmetic exercises like hike in production a little bit will not be a long term solution. The Socialist President of Venezuela, Mr. Hugo Chavez, who finds a place among leaders this century must emulate displayed in Dravida Peravai banners, feels the increase in production is not to ease oil prices and reduce the burden on common man, but to help speculation. He had earlier said in a BBC interview in 2006 that by 1990, the price of a barrel was just 20 US dollars. The oil producing countries must have a long term policy and fix the maximum profitable and reasonable price of 50 US dollars per barrel, and if the countries arrive at a consensus to sell oil at 50 US dollars per barrel for a long period, that alone will help the world, Mr. Hugo Chavez opines.

Dravida Peravai feels he is the voice of the conscience of the world. A nation that got Independence led by Mahatma Gandhi must back Venezuelan President in world forums but India also joins the chorus of greedy nations, sorry greedy companies that dictate their nation’s choices, in keeping oil prices in high. Our rulers are only for slight reduction in prices as eye wash. They are not even speaking loud for common good of the mankind.

The supply and demand of oil on an average remains 85 million barrels per day. Till 2003 USA was only holding 350 million barrels as buffer stocks. Now it had doubled to 750 million barrels, which also creates artificial scarcity resulting in hiking of prices. By 2006 when oil prices touched 60 US dollars per barrel, The Senate Committee of USA woke up and examined the ground reality and told the ‘stock piling of companies hoping to make a kill when prices go up’ is also one of the reasons of soaring oil prices.

M.R.Venkatesh, a Chennai based chartered accountant rightly pointed out in rediff.com, that OPEC is not determining the prices of oil, but 4 American finance companies. Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, J.P.Morgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley are determining the rise in oil prices, this Indian scholar points out an accusing finger. American financial markets are investing in commodity trading, which they see is profitable than stock markets.

How this is being done? “After loosing money in the housing market, big hedge funds and investment banks are now pouring money into commodity markets, including oil, which are much less regulated than stock markets. They are not buying or hoarding actual oil, and hence do not have to incur the cost of storage. Instead they are buying oil futures with borrowed money at low rates of interest that is buying papers that entitle the holder to get oil after, say three months, at a price negotiated today. These papers are traded in commodity exchanges, just like company shares in stock markets” says Alok Ray, Professor of Economics at IIM Calcutta.

Indian Government headed by Mr.Manmohan Singh, with a Finance Minister like Mr.P.Chidambaram, with whom we cannot sympathize because he is a Tamilian, will never rule India with the interests of Indian common man in mind. They will be the spokespersons of the American companies, helping greedy men of the world to rob the mankind. Their advisers like Mr.Shankar Acharya, not the enemy of Jayalalitha, but a Member of the Board of Governors at Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations say that “oil pricing had been seriously bungled by the Government in last few years. Government should raise fuel prices gradually and more frequently”. If a Government that keeps such advisers is run by anti-people vested interests shielding the western countries and their greedy companies, we have to be content with periodical oil price rises followed by cosmetic reductions in election eve to hoodwink the people.

INDIA MUST HAVE A NON-POLITICAL FINANCE MINISTER. This demand by a registered political party Dravida Peravai may surprise the readers. We in our party manifesto registered with Election Commission of India, have advocated party-less democracy as panacea to Indian political party dominated political scenario. Hence it falls in our moral duty to suggest that Nobel Laureate Amarthya Sen should be made India’s Finance Minister.

The Union Government must have convened the National Integration Council or convened the Chief Ministers Conference to discuss the Value added Tax on petrol and diesel. Gujarat imposes 29.13 percent VAT on diesel and 29.88 percent VAT on petrol. The Left ruled West Bengal imposes 20.62 percent VAT on diesel and 27.66 percent on petrol. West Bengal also levies 4 percent tax each on kerosene and cooking gas. In Andhra Pradesh ruled by Congress 33 percent VAT on diesel is the order of the day. Punjab imposes 30 percent VAT on petrol. IS IT NOT THE DUTY OF THE UNION GOVERNMENT TO DISCUSS WITH STATES TO BRING UNIFORM REDUCTION IN VAT AND TO REDUCE OIL PRICES DRASTICALLY AFTER ALL THE PEOPLE ARE THE ULTIMATE MASTERS IN A DEMOCRACY.

[Press Release of 22^nd June 2008, a part of which will be telecasted by a local channel Rainbow channel]

N.Nandhivarman, General Secretary Dravida Peravai

OIL WARS AHEAD IN OUR OCEANS

OIL IN  THE CONTINENTAL SHELF OF 

ARABIAN SEAS &BAY OF BENGAL 

Editorials Monday, September 21st, 2009

There is oil in the Bay of Bengal and the evidence of Methane gas in the Shale treasures of the Arabian Sea point to rich deposits of Carbon based riches on the shorelines of Pakistan.  Bangladesh, Myanmar and Pakistan are stuck in protracted stalemates on resolving the issues of the law of the sea.

Myanmar says India has extended the maritime boundary unilaterally; Bangladesh to contest claims too

New Delhi: India’s claim over 300,000 sq. km of seabed in the Bay of Bengal that could potentially have large hydrocarbon reserves is being disputed by its eastern neighbours Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Myanmar, in a 4 August letter to the United Nations (UN), has complained that India has unilaterally extended the maritime boundary between the two countries, contravening a 1986 bilateral agreement. A copy of the letter is available on the UN website.

The maritime boundary between nations is an important reference point for establishing claims over untapped oil and gas, and mineral wealth in continental shelves.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on 18 June said that her government was also planning to contest India’s and Myanmar’s claims to the extended continental shelf. This was reported in the Daily Star, a local English newspaper.

A continental shelf is the relatively shallow seabed surrounding a continent that could, in many instances, extend beyond a country’s exclusive economic zone, defined by the UN as a sea area within 200 nautical miles (360km) from the shore.

The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) permits countries to claim continental shelf regions beyond the exclusive economic zone (giving exclusive fishing and mining rights), provided they can back it up with scientific data. On 12 May, India staked claim to large swathes of seabed under the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, which a government scientist involved with the survey process pegged at approximately 0.6 million sq. km of continental shelf. The scientist asked not to be identified.

Mint on 12 June reported that India’s claim was likely to also conflict with regions claimed by Sri Lanka as its own, quoting top government officials involved in the process.

India’s external affairs ministry is likely to enter into bilateral discussions with these countries and resolve the contentious issues, rather than wait for the UN to take a call, said an official at the ministry of earth sciences, which was involved in conducting surveys and technically establishing the extent of India’s continental shelf.

“Every country is going to be ambitious with its claims. There are obviously regions that may be common to countries, but the way out is to draw a median line and suitably apportion them,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Spokespersons from the ministry of external affairs—which submitted India’s claim—and Myanmar’s high commission in New Delhi didn’t respond to emails and repeated calls seeking comment.

Though the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea may not have as copious oil reserves as the Arctic circle, where a number of countries, from Russia to Denmark, are staking claim under the UN treaty, India has a programme to tap gas hydrates, which is seen as a major component of untapped seabed wealth.

India’s national gas hydrate programme was started in 1997 by the petroleum ministry along with Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd, GAIL (India) Ltd, Oil India Ltd, Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, department of ocean development, National Institute of Oceanography and National Geophysical Research Institute.

Methane, the primary component of natural gas, can be trapped in crystalline ice-like substances with water and small amounts of other gases. Methane hydrates are stable in ocean floor sediment at depths greater than 300m, and where they occur, they are known to cement loose sediment in a surface layer several hundred metres thick. If this methane can be freed in an economically viable manner, it will add to a country’s energy reserves. Posted: Tue, Aug 25 2009. 9:52 PM IST. Economy and Politics. Jacob P.

Huge Oil Deposits Located Near Coast of Pakistan

An estimated four to six million barrels of deposits of oil are located in the 240000 kilometres of Pakistan’s sea coast. Disclosing this Dr. Abdul Farah, Director General National Institute of Oceanography (NIO). Karachi told a radio news conference, that in addition to oil, mineral deposits could also be found in the sea coast of the country. However, exploration for oil and mineral deposits in the North Arabian Sea had so far been done by the foreign companies…Huge oil deposits located near coast.  He said, in order to make our exploration for oil and mineral deposits from the sea a research ship was needed. (Pakistan’s sea coast)(Business Opinion)

He said that a joint research programme of Pakistan and United States costing three million dollars spread over five years had been approved recently under which deep see exploration from 500 metres to 3000 metres would be undertaken to see properties and the behaviour of monsoon with changes in the sea. He also spoke of the Antarctica Scientific Expedition Mission undertaken by Pakistani scientists and said. “we are the first Muslim country to have hoisted our flag in Antarctica. Progress of the expedition since the members of the team reached Antarctica on January 14 has so far been satisfactory”.

To a question Dr. Farah said, Pakistan was the first country to carry out research and establish its station at the same time in Antarctica. He said, members of Pakistani expedition comprising scientists from NIO, Geological Survey of Pakistan, Meteorological Department, Hussain Ebrahim Jamal Institute of Karachi University, Pakistan Army and Navy will stay in Antarctica for one month to carry out research work.

The project which costed Rs. 8 crores most of it in foreign exchange enabled the members of the expedition to set up Jinnah Station in Antarctica where an instrument will be installed which by satellite will send figures of various aspects of weather all the year round. The DG NIO also disclosed that Pakistan was the first country to have completed arrangements for sending an expedition and setting up a station in Antarctica. So far a total of 39 countries have set up stations in Antarctica. He hoped Pakistan will be able to share its experience gained from this expedition with other Islamic countries. To a question, he said “we want to continue this expedition in future as well”.

He explained that the success of the Antarctica expedition was possible due to the cooperation of the Federal Government, Ministry of Science and Technology, and scientists and experts of Pakistan Army and Navy, besides NIO. He said, members of the expedition will collect samples of ice and stones of rock for scientific studies of air radiation, temperature, etc. According to Dr. Farah, Pakistan has established itself in the international efforts by sending its expedition to Antarctica.

He agreed with a questioner that industrialists had not yet responded positively to invest in the research and development activity for science and technology. To yet another question, he said, pollution has affected marine life of the country. Only with the cooperation of industrialists can pollution be controlled, he added. However, there was now awareness among the industrialists to check pollution. Regarding growth of Mangroves along the coast Dr. Farah said that this should be encouraged as it was a source of food for fish. Publication: Economic Review Date: Tuesday, January 1 1991

The Bay of Bengal is not the only Continental Shelf that is being contested. The Arabian Sea is also being contested. Sir Creek makes a huge difference in the number of Nautical miles which come under the control of Paksitan or Bharat.

Northwestern branch of the Indian Ocean, covering 3,859,000 sq km/1,489,970 sq mi, with India to the east, Pakistan and Iran to the north, and the Arabian Peninsula and Somalia to the west. It is linked with the Red Sea via the Gulf of Aden, and with the Gulf via the Gulf of Oman. Its mean depth is 2,730 m/8,956 ft. The chief river flowing into the Arabian Sea is the Indus, which is linked with a large submarine canyon in the continental shelf. The sea is rich in fish.

Surface currents are driven by the monsoon winds, a northeasterly flow from the Somali coast in summer known as the ‘Monsoon Drift’, with a weaker flow in the opposite direction in winter. The Arabian Sea is divided into two basins, the Somali and Arabian, separated by the Carlsberg ridge. This ridge is seismically active, and divides in the Gulf of Aden, one part entering the Red Sea and the other eventually linking with the Great Rift Valley system in eastern Africa.

The Arabian Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) is characterized by its tropical climate. It encompasses three sub-regions in the Indian Ocean. The Western Arabian Sea borders Somalia, Yemen and Oman; the Central Arabian Sea borders Iran; the Eastern Arabian Sea borders India and Pakistan. Each sub-region has its own originality in terms of current patterns, physical characteristics, physiochemical qualities, dominant species and biodiversity. There is extensive interchange of surface waters in the Indian Ocean between the Arabian Sea LME and the Somali Current and Bay of Bengal LMEs. A few rivers (Indus, Euphrates and Tigris) empty into the LME. LME book articles and chapters pertaining to this LME include Dwivedi and Choubey, 1998; Bakun et al, 1998; Baars et al, 1998; and Piontkovski, 1998.

Pakistan’s Arabian Sea: Rich treasures lie under the waters of the Pakistani shoreline. Every inch of Pakistani terrotory has to be defended in Sir Creek. Pakistan loses hundreds of square miles in the Oil rich Arabian Sea

Productivity

The continental shelf is widest off the Northwest coast of India. This region has tropical cyclone storms. There is extensive interchange of surface waters in the Indian Ocean, encompassing the Arabian Sea LME, the Somali Current LME and the Bay of Bengal LME. Depending on monsoon winds, local topography, the width and depth of the continental shelf, and drainage of coastal areas, there are three coastal ecosystems, each characterized by its own productivity and species distribution. For more information on these 3 sub-regions, see Dwivedi and Choubey, 1998. There is a complex set of ecologic processes affecting trophic enrichment, food distribution, and advection of swimming organisms. The Arabian Sea LME is strongly influenced by monsoons. During the southwest monsoon, from May to October, the winds in this region are from the southwest, inducing a great deal of evaporation from the warm waters of the Arabian Sea, and heavy rainfall along the coast of India. The winds blow toward India and cause upwelling of low-oxygen waters.

There is a concentration of fish in nearshore areas at that time. During the other half of the year, the winds blow in the opposite direction, and not as strongly. For a map of the southwest and northeast monsoons, see Bakun et al, 1998, pp 120 and 121. For more on surface circulation and on upwelling in the Gulf of Aden, off Oman and off the Southwest Indian coast, see Bakun et al, 1998. For data on monsoons observed in 1992 and 1993, see Baars et al, 1998. There is more information on the Arabian Sea’s geological and climatic evolution, the role of JGOFS in the Arabian Sea, and on Arabian Sea seasonal changes in upwelling and productivity. This tropical region shows great marine biodiversity. The Arabian Sea LME is considered a Class I, highly productive (>300 grams of Carbon per square meter per year (gC/m2-yr)) ecosystem based on SeaWiFS global primary productivity estimates. For more information on productivity in the Gulf of Aden, see Baars et al, 1998. For more information on former Soviet expeditions to the Indian Ocean, conducting field surveys of plankton fields and studying physical, chemical and biologic characteristics, see Piontkovski, 1998. In this LME, there are clear differences in salinity in water masses of different origin. Off of India’s southwest coast, mud banks help to increase productivity. http://www.eoearth.org/article/Arabian_Sea_large_marine_ecosystem

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