The recent ISIS insurrection proved that the world’s oil supply will continue to be in serious danger if the terrorist organization ISIS (“Islamic State in Iraq and Syria”) gains power. The global oil market is threatened but will eventually return to a normal state.
The Islamic State (of Iraq and Syria) is a radical Islamist group that has taken control of large regions of territory in Eastern Syria and Northern and Western Iraq. The main goal of ISIS, a Sunni Jihadist group, is to instigate and provoke fighting between Muslims across Iraq and Syria.
ISIS has undergone a rapid increase in power in recent months, spreading their message through social media, and responses from the White House show immediate changes to drastically improve American military tactics and procedures involving relations with Iraq and Syria.
The Obama administration assured the nation that the U.S. would not return to war in Iraq, but will embark on a major military expansion to advance the campaign against militants and advisors in both Iraq and Syria, according to the New York Times earlier this month.
British hostage David Haines was abducted by ISIS soldiers in March 2013, and beheaded in 2014. An aid worker stationed in Syria, Haines was the third of three British citizens to be held hostage and killed by ISIS militants. The beheading was intended to warn Britain of the dangers of having an alliance with the United States, and stressed that Muslims in Iraq were being threatened. While Britain still continues to have a strong alliance with the United States, ISIS gained power and momentum when they killed an innocent man to prove a point.
Pressure on the global oil market has risen in response to the recent ISIS attack on Iraq’s largest refinery. The world relies on oil supplies from countries in the Middle East such as Iraq and Iran. According to a report by Legal Insurrection online (legalinsurrection.com), the recent oil refinery attack is not the first to occur; ISIS favors the site as a significant attack location meant to take advantage of the oil supply to enable illegal transport of fuel to certain groups in northern Iraq and Syria.
After undergoing parliamentary elections in late April of this year, Iraq still doesn’t have political stability and is in even more danger with recent ISIS attacks on oil supplies in the country. Gas prices in areas all over the globe have reflected the results of the insurrection.
According to The Economist Intelligence Unit on Energy, the value of Brent Crude (European Oil Benchmark) jumped by more than $4 US-dollars per barrel. Prices are expected to decrease, but the threat of oil market instability remains a major concern.
Sarina deSousa
Business Manager
sdesousa2@ucmerced.edu