Italy is the biggest trading partner of Libya in terms of oil and other natural gas. Libya provide about one third of the oil in Italy and count for about 10 to 15 percent of their natural gas. Which let mean that Italy has the most to loose as the result of the revolution. If Gaddafi's regimes falls it is uncertain that the next government would continue the trade between Libya and Italy.
I find it interesting how the revolution in one country could have a drastic effect on another country and could even potentially affect it economy.
It makes me wonder if Economy and Politics should be linked?
3 comments:
Italy has invested a tremendous amount in Libyan oil. The fact that oil from Libya accounts for a third of that consumed by Italians will have a large impact on the Italian economy as a whole. This is due to the fact that oil prices are rising at extreme rates and many attribute this to the tensions rising in Libya.
It'd be interesting to hear Italy's respond towards Libya's actions of slaughtering its own citizens. This is unfortunate for the Italians but they do have backup fossil fuel reserves though. Fortunately, Libya supplies 2% of the world's oil trading, which is good but still it is elastic. If the situation drags on for more than 3 weeks, it can become a serious concern for Italy.
This goes to show the too much reliance on another countries resources is extremely risky. Since Italy relies heavily on oil from Libya is is extremely sensitive to whatever happens in Libya that will affect prices.
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