The militarization of petroleum and natural gas. . .
I found an interesting news item about Gazprom last week that to me further indicates bonding between the political and economic in Russia's energy front. I lifted this pretty much verbatim from Andrea Mihaelescu at UPI (emphasis added):
Russian gas giant Gazprom now has a right to set up its own armed units after Russian lawmakers gave the gas utility and Transneft, the state oil pipeline monopoly, the power to create armed units to defend their installations.
The Duma, the Parliament's lower house, passed a bill (341-109 on Wednesday, July 4) that would allow two Russian energy giants to recruit and arm their own security forces, giving them greater powers than private security firms, according to media reports. The decision gave Gazprom and Transneft exemption from strict limits on private businesses wielding arms.
Supporters of the law argued that there is a need to improve the protection of oil and gas pipelines from militant attacks. Alexandr Gurov, a Duma deputy who drafted the Bill, said, “A couple of terrorist acts and an ensuing ecological catastrophe would be enough to immediately declare Russia an unreliable partner and supplier of energy.”
But other lawmakers disagree. “This law is like a Pandora's Box,” said Gennady Gudkov, a lawmaker with the left-wing Fair Russia party who opposed the law. “Gazprom and Transneft are proposing the creation of their own corporate armies.”
The implications of this move on a security front in international relations look to be dangerous. States that are supplied by Gazprom or do business with them may soon be looking at contracts/treaties that stipulate a foreign military force be set on their soil. This would include Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan in Central Asia; Armenia in the Caucasus; and Belarus and Ukraine. While I don't see Gazprom as going to war in these countries on the behalf of Mr. Putin, I do see a precedent for intelligence gathering and possible human rights violations on the part of a company which increasingly looks like a government political/military agency rather than a government economic enterprise.
What I don't understand is why we haven't been hearing howls of outrage from countries that do business with Gazprom. If I was, say, Armenia, I would oppose Gazprom soldiers with my last breath. However, like many states in the region, Armenia is over a barrel when it comes to refusing this “help”–Gazprom and Co. owns and runs not just fuel commerce but energy grids in the state. Buyer beware. . .
Further reading:
Mercantilism, at Wikipedia
Neo-mercantilism, also from the Wikipedia