Abstract
Some energies are essential to develop economies and industries of developed countries since the industrial revolution: coal, gas and oil. 90 % of the world consumption is based on these energies. Several factors involve that countries need more and more of these energies: high technologies, car industry etc. Developed countries need more energies to control their economy and stabilize their inflation. This is an essential factor to control energy supply in order to be able to compete on the world market. Controlling energy supply is also important, within a geopolitical framework. Countries operate in a competitive world where resources are limited but the needs are unlimited. There are many actors which are playing in the quest for energy. First of all, there are countries, oil producing countries, exporters, importers etc. There are also state companies or private corporations. The issues are so important that it can involve wars and conflicts because of the need of resources. Let's check who the main players of this game are.
Firstly there is an important factor to take into account, most of the energies are situated in one area: the Middle East. This region has an exclusive role-play because it contains 65 % of the oil world resources. Besides, the oil producing countries such as Saudi Arabia have created an association in order to gather their strength and become better organized for the oil trade: this is the OPEC (The Organization of the Petroleum exporting Countries). The organization's goal is to watch the cartel's interests individually and collectively. It also aims to ensure the stabilization of the prices. We can say that the OPEC members concentrate 62% of the oil resources and 49% of the gas resources. So you must have good relation with the organization to ensure your supply. There are also other areas that possess oil and gas resources like Russia, Venezuela and many countries in Africa (Libya, Sudan, Angola, and Guinea).
Since the beginning of the 21st century, the world consumption is about 9 billion each year, and the demand is still increasing. We can cay that there are huge disparities in this figure as you can see on the graph. We know that the biggest consumers are the developed countries such as USA, Japan, Germany or France. But there have been new players on the horizon since the beginning of the 21st century.
