With the price of oil crossing $110 a barrel, the oil-importing countries' concerns have been mounting. Not surprisingly, the issue of whether the time is now ripe for energy consuming countries to take measures to counter the producers' growing clout is being discussed, including the formation of a consumers' cartel, to force exporters to bring down prices.

The pressures on Iran to roll back its uranium enrichment programme have increased with the UN Security Council imposing harsher sanctions and Washington indicating that it is even ready to carry out military strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. The Iranian leadership, on the other hand, continues to claim that its nuclear programme is peaceful and is essential for producing electricity and helping economic development to meet the needs of a growing population.

China’s relations with Angola have traditionally been friendly due to the fact that both countries were and still are ruled by Marxist Leninist regimes, but until recently the PRC’s presence in the country was rather insignificant. However, in the last five years or so China’s influence in the country has grown rapidly. From a marginal position in Beijing’s foreign policy priorities, Angola has move to the very forefront of China’s foreign relations. Today without question Angola is China’s most important partner on the African continent.

While the efforts of ONGC-Videsh and Indian Oil Corporation are laudable, there is still some distance our firms have to travel to catch up with global competition. I urge our oil and gas PSUs to think big, think creatively and think boldly in this context…They have to be more fleet-footed in making use of global opportunities, both on the supply and demand side, I find China ahead of us in planning for the future in the field of energy security. We can no longer be complacent and must learn to think strategically, to think ahead and to act swiftly and decisively.

In recent years, Africa has emerged as a hot spot for energy sources. The reopening of the oil sector in Sudan and the oil discoveries in West and Central Africa has made this possible. There is a growing argument that oil breeds instability in the African and other oil-rich developing countries across the world. While oil wealth has led to an increase in conflicts in Africa, particularly in the case of Sudan and Nigeria, the rising energy demand is pushing major US, European, Chinese and Malaysian oil companies to invest in African oil.