The Sudanese Oil Crisis and its Impact on U.S. Interests
The country of Sudan has been at war with itself for decades. Multiple civil wars, ethnic, religious, and economic conflicts have plagued the country and have resulted in South Sudan’s secession from Sudan on 9 July 2011. The country of Sudan sits on a significant crude oil reserve that produces an estimated 450-500,000 barrels of oil per day (Verhoeven, 2011). The secession created a severe economic crisis for both countries. They both need the oil revenue to run their respective governments and feed their people. South Sudan now controls approximately 75 percent of the oil reserves; however the infrastructure to export the oil is controlled by Sudan (Ayyaantuu News Online, 2012). The disruption of oil exports from Sudan will have a negative impact on both Sudan and South Sudan economies. The tensions between the two countries also have the potential to develop into hostilities. China has invested heavily into the development of Sudan’s oil infrastructure. In order to counter Chinese influence in the Sudan a significant U.S. investment in South Sudan is necessary to secure the country and develop a separate oil pipeline. This will positively affect the South Sudan, its allies, and the U.S. economies, along with potentially encouraging regime change in Sudan.
The Republics of Sudan and South Sudan are located in the Horn of Africa bordered by Egypt and Libya to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, Chad to the west, Uganda, Congo and Kenya to its south. The Sudanese population is a combination of indigenous Africans, and descendants of migrants from the Arabian Peninsula. The majority of the population adheres to Islam with ...
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Ancient Kush was located South of Egypt, in an area historically known as Nubia. It was the center of the blue and white Nile and the River Atbara. Today the world’s newest nation and Africa’s 55th country, Republic of Sudan sits there. The Republic Sudan currently has a population 45.7 million with a presidential republic government,Omar al-Bashir is currently the president .
In 2011, after nearly 50 years of conflict, citizens of the southern half of Sudan voted to secede and form their own country. On 9 July 2011, South Sudan was created amidst the uphill battle of legitimacy, governance, and economic stability in an already volatile region. Widespread poverty and an underdeveloped infrastructure plague the chances of South Sudan’s success.
In the article Blood Barrels: Why Oil Wealth Fuels Conflict, Michael L. Ross claims that “oil wealth often wreaks havoc to a country’s economy and politics”, and fuels or is intricately involved in the majority of the world’s civil wars. The oil curse, as he calls it, begins with a country’s massive economic growth after the discovery of oil deposits, followed by the local government incurring in copious debts, squandering oil revenues, and, in many occasions, suffering from the Dutch Disease, which creates absolute economic dependability on petroleum. This curse paves the way towards armed conflict, because oil wealth leads to economic unrest that leads to further political instability, often helps to support insurgencies, and encourages separatism of enclosed economic enclaves (Ross).
Background: Darfur is Islamic Sultanate located in the Western Region of Sudan; which is often referred to as the Horn of Africa. It’s reported to be covering one fifth of the country, and has a populous between four and six million. Darfur’s geographic make up is composed of traditional Muslim Arabs located in the Northern portion of Darfur, with the southern portion consisting of “white Arabs” and Furs (People of Darfur or peasant farmers). Darfur is bordered by Libya in the North, with Chad to the west, and the Central African Republic in the south west Kordofar and the Bahr El-Gazal region borders the eastern and southern parts of Darfur. In essence Fur is the major ethnic group, hence the name Darfur. (DAR equals Abode, DAFUR meaning the abode of Fur. The rest of the population is nomadic or semi-nomadic herders. Most of the farmers live close to a subsistence level. Meaning they have the minimal requirements to meet physical needs such as food, shelter, clothing and medical care in the event of an emergency. “The Fur, largely peasant farmers, occupy the central belt of the region, including the Jebel Marra massif.” There is also the non-Arab Masalit, Berti, Bargu, Bergid, Tama and Tunjur people who are sedentary farmers-farmers which usually remain in the same location. In the northernmost zone is Dar Zaghawa, part of the Libyan Sahara, and some “camel nomads” primarily Bedeyat and Zaghawa who are non-Arab in origin, and the...
America is dependent on other nations for their ability to create energy. The United States is the world’s largest consumer of oil at 18.49 million barrels of oil per day. And it will continue to be that way for the foreseeable future considering the next largest customer of oil only consumes about 60% of what the U.S. does. This makes the U.S. vulnerable to any instability that may arise in the energy industry. In 2011, the world’s top three oil companies were Saudi Aramco (12%), National Iranian Oil Company (5%), and China National Petroleum Corp (4%). The risk associated with these countries being the top oil producers is twofold. One, they are located half way around the world making it an expensive to transport the product logistically to a desired destination. And two, the U.S. has weak, if not contentious,...
Sudan was broken by three regions, North, West and South. Each varies among religion and ethics. For example northern of sudan ethnically is Arabic and religiously Muslim, southern of Sudan is ethnically black and religiously Christin while the western of Sudan is ethnically black religiously Muslim. People were fostered by sort of hierarchy where the more arabic or the lighter your skin was, the more intelligent you were perceived. For example, the reason Omar Hassan al-Bashir seized power was because of where he was from and the color of his skin, Hassan lacked all characte...
“History repeats itself”, is a commonly used phrase and it is one that can be found to hold true in many situations. Throughout history there have been many incidents in which mass murder has occurred. A modern day example of mass murder in a conflict that is ongoing is the genocides occurring in Darfur, Sudan. The corrupt government in the country supports a group called the Janjaweed, which is the militia group that is mainly responsible for the large number of Darfur residents that have been murdered, raped, or displaced (1). Although the exact number is not known, most sources estimate around 400,000 people have died and another 2,500,000 have been displaced (1). The conflict started in 2003 and although it is not as severe as it has been in past years the issue still exists and the people of Darfur are still experiencing murder and suffering. The conflict in Darfur has been a topic of discussion for many nations, including the United States. The issue arises of whether or not larger nations, who have more power, should aid in the effort to stop the Darfur genocide. Some believe very strongly that the United States has an obligation to step up and help this country control a largely unethical situation. Others take the opposite argument and have reasons to believe the interests of the United States would be best served elsewhere. The situation is more complex than it initially seems and many factors must be analyzed when considering if the United States is obligated to intervene. At the same time, a conflict of this severity and size cannot be easily contained by a small and struggling nation and sometimes a bigger nation is needed to help with a conflict of this magnitude. Being a world power, the United States has the resour...
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Throughout Northern and Central Africa ethnic fighting and mass genocide has run rampant. Clashes between, diverse ethnic and cultural people has caused instability, these mass humanitarian disasters that can no longer be ignored. With the help of other nations South Sudan can go from another mass genocide waiting to happen, to a region supplier of much needed resources, with the help of other nations. In the 1990’s Rwanda genocide was basically ignored by the United States government and because of this hundreds of thousands were either killed or injured in the area. In the early 2000’s the war in Darfur, created a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Darfur's non-Arabs. Again thousands of Africans were killed and the United States government and the American people ignored genocide.
South Sudan is the newest country in the world, the fifty-fourth country in Africa, and the newest country to join the United-Nations. South Sudan is a landlocked country and is located in Eastern-Africa. South Sudan is filled with plains in the north and center parts of the country. Within South Sudan lays the White Nile, a major tributary of the Nile River, which is the longest river in the world spreading four thousand two hundred fifty eight miles long. South Sudan is bordered by six countries: Central African Republic, Kenya, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and Sudan.
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Darfur is located in the western region of Sudan, adjacent to Chad and Central Africa. Darfur is ethnically and culturally diverse; its population is approximately 6 million people from as many as 100 tribes. The Darfur genocide was not an abrupt event; it was a culmination of incidents that raised ethnic tensions within the African country of Sudan. One can trace the start of the tension all the way back to 1989, when Omar al-Bashir came to power in a coup. It is his regime that has inflamed ethnic tensions and has committed mass atrocities.
Tadesse, Debay. Post-independence South Sudan: the challenges ahead. ISPI-ISTITUTO PER GU STUDI DI POLITICA INTERNAZIONALE. February 2012.no.46.
The rise of this conflict can be traced back to European colonialism. As the British Empire continued to expand it incorporated Sudan into it’s empire in the 1890s. However at the time, Sudan was not the Sudan that is knew pre-2011. There were two a North and a South Sudan. The north was predominatingly a Arabic speaking Muslim North, and the south an English speaking Christian South. To prevent Egypt claiming North Sudan, the British combined the two regions into one. It can be classified as this being the start of the conflict. The two regions, were culturally,religiously, and ethnically different. Tensions were bound to rise based on these issues. When the British colonialism ended and Sudan declared independence in 1956, the borders were not altered. The country was still united into one Sudan. The British like most Colonial powers left the nation with an unstable government structure. The British supported the North more than it did the South, thus creating resentment and tensions between the two after the end of colonialism.