Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2014 20:35:23 +0200
REVIEW: ‘The New Kings of Crude’ – fight for oil in the Sudans
Posted on
<http://africanarguments.org/2014/04/14/review-the-new-kings-of-crude-fight-
for-oil-in-the-sudans/> April 14, 2014
Review of Luke Patey, The New Kings of Crude: China, India, and the Global
Struggle for Oil in Sudan and South Sudan,
<http://africanarguments.org/2014/04/14/review-the-new-kings-of-crude-fight-
for-oil-in-the-sudans/>
Londonhttp://savingsslider-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png:
Hurst and Company, 2014, pp.357 (with index), Pbk £25.00
If you want to know about oil in Sudan and South Sudan and the fascinating
role of China in its development, exploitation and conflicts, then go no
further than Luke Patey’s new book. It’s a complicated, complex work that
reads, at times, like the background for a thriller – especially at the
start when talking about the cowboy-booted US oilmen from Chevron visiting
the dusty south. But make no mistake; this is not a lightweight,
sensational swing through the Sudans for dummies. It is a very weighty
work, meticulously researched and mixing knowledge and in-depth analysis of
the oil industry in both Sudans with the context of the countries’
conflicts. It sheds a fascinating light on the Chinese and Indian quest for
oil concessions as part of their wider economic and energy ambitions.
If there is a criticism, it is that too much time is spent on the travails
of the early US oil exploration and exploitation operations in the south
with a few extraneous clichés like “the burning coasts and deserts” and the
“hardened men” of the US oil companies. But you soon get over this as the
intricate detail of the oil industry and its attempts to exploit Sudan’s
resources take centre stage. The US and then Chinese and Indian attempts to
gain control of Sudan’s oil are set against the background of Sudan’s
political landscape and the intricacies of insurgency, counter-insurgency
and betrayal that have characterized the war in the south and the subsequent
clashes between Sudan and the newly independent state of South Sudan and the
latter’s own civil war. The latter conflict may not just be about oil, but
the reasons for it are not divorced from the desire of both factions to gain
control over resources.
What is interesting is the way that oil lubricates the wheels of politics as
well as providing the fluke for conflict and the divisive, manipulative and
ultimately self-defeating strategies of Khartoum in trying to retain control
of the south and in fomenting divisions among its enemies. The duplicity of
successive regimes is brought out well in Patey’s narrative, particularly
with reference to the use of groups like Machar’s to undermine the SPLA, and
then Khartoum’s attempts to undermine Machar, their ally, within his own
group.
The north’s use and abuse of the Misseriya people is particularly
interesting, considering the community’s ambitions for control of Abyei and
surrounding areas – using them to challenge the South’s claims but ditching
them when it was expedient. No wonder the Misseriya turned against the oil
companies that they had once been paid to protect by attacking southern
rebels.
The single-minded pursuit of a major stake in Sudan’s oil by the Chinese is
also expertly charted and in great detail – a treasure chest of references,
names and dates for researchers. The party-state-oil company
interconnections are set out clearly. As are the reasons for Chinese
interest in the development and exploitation, and the declining interest now
as limited reserves and mounting conflict do not justify further major
<http://africanarguments.org/2014/04/14/review-the-new-kings-of-crude-fight-
for-oil-in-the-sudans/>
investmenthttp://savingsslider-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png.
These also show their less than altruistic motives in the Sudans. For all
their fine words of eternal friendship with the peoples of Africa, the
Chinese are now no better (though not necessarily worse, either) than the
capitalist companies they have replaced.
Overall, this book is a must for Sudan watchers, China watchers and those
who watch the twists and turns of the global oil and energy industries.
Keith Somerville is a, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of
Commonwealth Studies at the University of
<http://africanarguments.org/2014/04/14/review-the-new-kings-of-crude-fight-
for-oil-in-the-sudans/>
Londonhttp://savingsslider-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png,
teaches at the School of Politics and International Studies, University of
Kent, and is editor of Editor of Africa – News and Analysis
(www.africajournalismtheworld.com).
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