Duncan Clarke

Publisher: Profile Books
Available Now: September 2007. Hardback, 334 pages

Orders: To Order, please email to babette@glopac.com

Many Empires Of Oil Will Shape The Future Of The West

A complex global oil game is afoot and has always been there. It is now in the mind of the public. This game is played out between contesting parties: Corporate Oil, Nation States and Governments, National Oil Companies, and increasingly a plethora of private and social interests (organised or otherwise), that holds or claims a stake in the future world oil patrimony.

In the Empires Of Oil, Duncan Clarke, one of the world’s leading strategists on the global upstream, provides fresh perspectives and understanding about this vast dance, a paradigm on which the future of modern societies and the world hinge.

For the first time, an overarching explanation of the global oil game is presented. It highlights the clash of emerging Empires of Oil, decline in American Empire, and the tests confronting US world oil strategy as well as that of the Western world.

The Treatise examines Great Power oil rivalries, pressures on US energy policy, Russia’s oil positioning by the Kremlin, China’s energy development and its voracious State Oil Companies, and mini-Empires Of Oil now rising in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Duncan Clarke (Author of The Battle For Barrels, Profile, 2007) explains why the complex shifts to oil resource nationalism reflect an irrevocable squeeze on Corporate Oil and the West. The book shows how oil companies are seeking new strategies to survive these dilemmas, with no end yet foreseen to Corporate Oil.

But the genie of competitive Empires in Oil will not be returned to the bottle. State challengers (Governments and National Oil Companies) have arrived under propitious conditions. Their new domains will not be easily reversed, or ceded to the old order, just as in Rome the Barbarians assaulted the Empire and transformed world History.

There will be no single Empire of Oil, but many, some fast-rising, others mutating, all jockeying for competitive position. Barbarian oil worlds have counter-strategies to the old order and are playing a new game. There is no simple finale to this on-going oil saga. Yet the old oil paradigms of the 20th Century have cracked, the walls have been breached.

The Barbarians have arrived to command many of the citadels of oil. This is no End of Oil History but a new phase, shaping radically different worlds built on many competing Empires of Oil.

Endorsements : From Around The World

"If you read just one book on oil this year, let it be by Duncan Clarke, whose Empires Of Oil is a stimulating mix of futurology, philosophy, and real politik, with a dose of lateral thinking thrown in. Drawing on sources as diverse as Machiavelli and Gibbon, Niall Ferguson and Robert D Kaplan, as well as lessons learnt from three decades as a leading industry advisor, Clarke challenges current assumptions about the future of oil. The result is a blast of fresh intellectual air that forces a radical reappraisal of the role of the commodity that shapes our lives, for better or for worse". Michael Holman, former Africa editor, Financial Times

"Having known Duncan Clarke's intimate knowledge on the Asian and world upstream since the mid 1980s, it is no surprise to find in Empires Of Oil a masterly rendition of our past, present and future in the global oil exploration and development game. State oil companies have seized many commanding heights and private companies must adjust to new terrains. Clarke's tour du monde tackles these issues with originality, new thinking, and an unrivalled command of the complex strategies involved" Dr Fereidun Fesharaki, Chairman & CEO, Facts Global Energy Group

"The Rise and Fall of Empires is not only the stuff of history but also reflects the titanic struggles going on here and now within the complexities of world oil geopolitics. Few are more qualified than Duncan Clarke to give us this erudite account of such a critical unfolding drama. A world class economist with extensive exposure to many empires of oil, his interaction with all the players in the global oil game over 30 years provides a striking vision from one of the best non-linear thinkers of our age" Conrad Gerber, President, Petro-Logistics Ltd., Geneve

"A timely contribution to debate on corporate oil as the world fast-forwards into an uncertain energy future. With characteristic iconoclasm, Clarke critically evaluates urgent challenges presented by geopolitical transformations, explaining why smart companies must change strategies, portfolio choice and tactics to survive. The old order based on large players exercising unbridled power around the globe is under siege from smaller, more nimble competitors while state oil companies worldwide are redefining the rules of the global oil game, with resource nationalists and ethnic militia redrawing the oil map to restrict entry and reserve access for traditional players" Barry Morgan, Africa Correspondent, Upstream, The International Oil & Gas Newspaper

“There is no one in the world untouched by the oil industry as Duncan Clarke's fascinating Empires Of Oil shows, by unraveling the strengths and the weakness of the world's oil companies, examining their adversaries in-depth, in an intriguing story of how one brick at a time the modern barbarians have sought to subdue them, not only in the Middle East, but with initiatives arising from East Asia and holding many lessons for African governments.” Moeletsi Mbeki, Deputy Chairman, South African Institute of International Affairs

"With a wealth of knowledge derived from decades inside the world oil industry with Governments, national oil companies and players of all corporate types, Duncan Clarke draws unique and pertinent scenarios for global energy based on deep understanding and enlightening insights from history. A book to read, with lessons for all involved in petroleum, and significant reflections on humanity's oil and gas future" John M. Albuquerque Forman, former Director ANP (Brazil Oil & Gas Regulatory Agency) and Professor of Economic Geology, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

"The author shows the rapidly rising power of a growing multitude of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) - as opponents of both the OECD's 'empires of oil' and their developing world statist opponents, so adding yet another complexity to the future of international oil." Peter R. Odell, Professor Emeritus, Erasmus University, Rotterdam

“With extensive understanding of global petroleum, Duncan Clarke’s Empires Of Oil offers a clear picture of the changing new game – demonstrating key trends and increasing complexities arising from the presence of new players, producers and consumers, as guided by self-interest. A book of value for serious and casual readers, and important reference work for years to come” Robert E. Ebel, Senior Advisor Energy, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington DC