@article{2014:peters:the_tig,
title = {The “Tight Oil Revolution” and its Consequences for the European Union: A “Wake-up Call” for its Neglected Energy Security},
year = {2014},
note = {Access to and availability of affordable oil is a key factor in the
smooth functioning of any industrialized society of the world economy,
particularly in oil-dependent nations like the United States and its
Western allies, as well as Asian nations. Since the end of World War
II, the US has exerted its military influence in the Middle East to
prevent a hostile power from gaining control of the Persian Gulf, with
the inevitable skyrocketing of oil prices that would follow. As the
closest allies to the US, the heavily oil-dependent European states
could always count on free-riding on the US’ geopolitical1
engagement in this region. But in the wake of a general withdrawal
from its traditional role as a world policeman and the effects of its
“tight oil revolution”, the US recently made its first moves to
relax its strategic engagement in the Middle East and will revert to a
policy of “risk aversion” in the event of a crisis in the Middle
East. On the basis of this assumption, the article will argue that
this US foreign policy shift is a concern for the Europeans, and that
the EU has pursued an incomprehensive and incoherent energy security
strategy, too market-driven to cope with future challenges. These
challenges will be posed by potential supply outages due to a
disruption crisis and the projected substantial reductions of
deliveries from its traditional main suppliers. The article will
further reject the option of making the current EU energy security
policy more robust by militarizing it in the context of the EU Common
Security and Defense Policy. While it does not recommend engaging in
any kind of realist energy strategy, this paper will conclude that the
EU should use this newly created geopolitical constellation as a
wake-up call to design a grand energy strategy in the medium term
which makes use of the EU’s political and economic power to provide
a business-climate-fostering investment and trading contracts with EU
oil companies in producer states. In the long term, the EU must shed
its oil import dependency by transforming into a low-carbon society.
The article will begin by describing the geopolitical effects of the
tight oil revolution.},
journal = {S&F Sicherheit und Frieden},
pages = {170--175},
author = {Peters, Susanne},
volume = {32},
number = {3}
}