The Influencing Factors Of African Transnational Oil Pipeline Construction From The Perspective Of Geopolitics

In the era of globalization,the political and economic pattern of the world tends to be stable.Economic growth and national security have become the goals that all countries compete for,and the sustainable supply of energy is one of the bases to realize this goal.Africa’s natural energy advantages and open energy diplomacy have attracted the attention of world powers.Based on China’s current energy situation and the enduring and increasingly fierce energy competition in today’s world,it is essential to carry out energy cooperation between China and Africa.The construction of oil pipeline is the carrier for China to import oil from non-African countries,so it is necessary to pay attention to the research of oil pipeline in Africa that China participates in.Uganda’s economy has continued to grow over the past decade,but it still has common characteristics of African countries.In the field of oil and energy,despite the discovery of large crude oil reserves in the early 21 st century and the construction of a transnational oil pipeline for oil export,it is puzzling that the pipeline has not been built for more than a decade.Compared with other African transnational oil pipelines with similar natural conditions and socio-economic conditions in the countries of origin of oil,the construction process of this transnational oil pipeline,which is also located in the African continent and has no special characteristics compared with other African countries,has repeated twists and turns.Based on this,after analyzing the energy status of Africa and the current energy situation of China,this study combined relevant researches at home and abroad,adopted the case study method,and selected the East African crude oil pipeline with oil origin in Uganda as the study case to explore the factors affecting the construction of the pipeline.On this basis,it concludes what factors affect the construction of transnational oil pipelines in Africa.In the process of case tracing and literature review,this study finds that geopolitical factors are important factors affecting the construction of the pipeline,mainly from four aspects: first,geographical location.The oil producing area that the pipeline depends on is located at the border of the two countries and is located in the environmental protection zone of Uganda,and territorial disputes and environmental threats are important factors affecting the construction of the pipeline.The second is the factor of national strength.On the one hand,the rise of China makes the United States feel threatened with its apparent hegemony.Therefore,for the international cooperation projects that China participates in,the United States always intervenes in various forms out of the heart of containing China,including the construction of the East African oil pipeline.On the other hand,the Ugandan government wants to restore East Africa’s long-oil-dominated leadership and elevate its regional role,and its authorities’ consideration of the role of the pipeline also influences the construction of the pipeline.Third,the factor of national interests.The game of oil supply direction between the Ugandan government and oil investor countries and between oil investor countries is the primary factor leading to the long-term stagnation of pipeline construction.Finally,there are regional risk factors.Although the comprehensive national strength of East African countries has been developing in recent years,they have been faced with internal political stability and the Somalia problem,which also makes the direction of oil pipeline construction uncertain to a certain extent.Through the exploration of the oil pipeline,this study hopes to summarize the factors affecting the construction of transnational oil pipelines in Africa from small to large.Finally,this paper hopes to enrich the theoretical research on geopolitics and African transnational oil pipelines on the one hand,and play a practical role in promoting China-Africa energy cooperation and ensuring our energy security on the other hand.