230
to move away from cheap coal, and on global investment in renewables. For such
countries, both supply security and price remain important factors. The flexibility of
the US industry in the market here gives it an advantage (www.worldpoliticsreview.
com 2020).
As far back as the Reagan Administration, US presidents have considered it critical to US foreign and domestic security to strengthen European energy security and
curtail the expansion of Russian gas exports into Europe. Consider the Obama and
Trump administrations; under both regimes, there was strong resistance to the
development of the Russia-Germany Nord Stream pipelines. Similarly, both Reagan
and Trump pursued sanctions on pipeline projects to bring gas into Europe from the
Soviet Union and Russia, respectively. There has been widespread cross-party support for European energy security through the directing of gas from the Caspian
region into Europe. In line with such policies, the US State Department has encouraged the use of Caspian gas as a means to dissolve European reliance on Russian
resources. As a result, many discussions have been held between the EU and representatives of the US administration (www.fdd.org 2020a, b, c).
Such cooperation has facilitated the development of the ambitious Southern Gas
Corridor from Azerbaijan to Europe. Thanks to the geopolitical considerations
which anchor the politics of Caspian region states toward the West, the US will also
benefit from regional cooperation in terms of international energy policy and foreign policy in general. Such benefits will assist Washington in maintaining its
regional achievements attained over the past 30 years. As can be seen in the light of
Washington’s interest in European energy security, US energy abundance does not
supersede the beneficence of Caspian energy in meeting US policy goals (Author’s
interview with Mehmet Ogutcu, August 23, 2020).
In a special news interview with Channel 2 on July 6, 2019, Bijan Namdar
Zanganeh, Minister of Oil responded to the host’s question of whether the behavior
of the United States has changed from a major consumer to a major producer in the
oil market by saying: “I think one of the reasons for imposing these oil sanctions on
Iran and Venezuela are to open the market for the sale of their oil.” He continued to
say that the United States had increased its daily oil production by 3.1 million barrels in the 2 years between July 2017 and 2019. “The United States is now the largest oil producer in the world, followed by Russia with more than 11 million barrels
per day, followed by Saudi Arabia with more than 9 million barrels per day. In fact,
the United States was looking for new export markets to sell its shale oil, especially
in Asian markets, which is growing faster than in European markets. Therefore,
Trump wanted to capture the share of Iranian oil exports in Asia. Give American oil
companies loose” (Irna.ir 2020a, b).
North Stream 2
The almost $11bn (£8.4bn) Nord Stream 2 project has troubled the US, and there is
bipartisan opposition to the project. The Trump administration is concerned that the
pipeline will cause America’s share of the profitable European LNG market to
6 Trump Energy Diplomacy
to move away from cheap coal, and on global investment in renewables. For such
countries, both supply security and price remain important factors. The flexibility of
the US industry in the market here gives it an advantage (www.worldpoliticsreview.
com 2020).
As far back as the Reagan Administration, US presidents have considered it critical to US foreign and domestic security to strengthen European energy security and
curtail the expansion of Russian gas exports into Europe. Consider the Obama and
Trump administrations; under both regimes, there was strong resistance to the
development of the Russia-Germany Nord Stream pipelines. Similarly, both Reagan
and Trump pursued sanctions on pipeline projects to bring gas into Europe from the
Soviet Union and Russia, respectively. There has been widespread cross-party support for European energy security through the directing of gas from the Caspian
region into Europe. In line with such policies, the US State Department has encouraged the use of Caspian gas as a means to dissolve European reliance on Russian
resources. As a result, many discussions have been held between the EU and representatives of the US administration (www.fdd.org 2020a, b, c).
Such cooperation has facilitated the development of the ambitious Southern Gas
Corridor from Azerbaijan to Europe. Thanks to the geopolitical considerations
which anchor the politics of Caspian region states toward the West, the US will also
benefit from regional cooperation in terms of international energy policy and foreign policy in general. Such benefits will assist Washington in maintaining its
regional achievements attained over the past 30 years. As can be seen in the light of
Washington’s interest in European energy security, US energy abundance does not
supersede the beneficence of Caspian energy in meeting US policy goals (Author’s
interview with Mehmet Ogutcu, August 23, 2020).
In a special news interview with Channel 2 on July 6, 2019, Bijan Namdar
Zanganeh, Minister of Oil responded to the host’s question of whether the behavior
of the United States has changed from a major consumer to a major producer in the
oil market by saying: “I think one of the reasons for imposing these oil sanctions on
Iran and Venezuela are to open the market for the sale of their oil.” He continued to
say that the United States had increased its daily oil production by 3.1 million barrels in the 2 years between July 2017 and 2019. “The United States is now the largest oil producer in the world, followed by Russia with more than 11 million barrels
per day, followed by Saudi Arabia with more than 9 million barrels per day. In fact,
the United States was looking for new export markets to sell its shale oil, especially
in Asian markets, which is growing faster than in European markets. Therefore,
Trump wanted to capture the share of Iranian oil exports in Asia. Give American oil
companies loose” (Irna.ir 2020a, b).
North Stream 2
The almost $11bn (£8.4bn) Nord Stream 2 project has troubled the US, and there is
bipartisan opposition to the project. The Trump administration is concerned that the
pipeline will cause America’s share of the profitable European LNG market to
6 Trump Energy Diplomacy