Political Scientist: US geoeconomic activity in Armenia is taking on  the character of resource colonization

ArmInfo. If today the US focuses on Armenia's critical mineral resources, tomorrow the shale oil reserves, which many have already forgotten, may also be back on the agenda. Meanwhile, America's interest in Armenia's shale  resources has a long history, writes political scientist and Doctor  of Political Science Vahe Davtyan.

According to him, back in 1995, the Armenian government decided to  conduct geological exploration to assess and develop the industrial  potential of oil shale, oil, gas, and coal reserves discovered during  the Soviet era. However, the initiative remained unfinished due to  the financial and economic crisis of the 1990s. In 2011, a memorandum  was signed between the RA Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources  and the Isle of Man-registered International Minerals and Mines  Company. The main objective of the memorandum was to explore possible  avenues for the exploration and development of shale oil reserves in  Armenia. The agreement provided for a joint assessment and technical  study of energy resources, including potential shale gas reserves.

However, American geological exploration in Armenia began long before  the signing of the aforementioned memorandum. According to research  by the US Geological Survey, the Aramus region contains approximately  44 million tons of oil shale reserves. This conclusion was reached by  American specialists based on research conducted in 1994. In a 2005  report, the American side presented higher estimates, noting the  presence of 17-18 million tons of shale reserves in Ijevan, Shamut,  and Jermanis, and approximately 128 million tons in the Dilijan  region. "Today, in the context of growing geoeconomic activity by the  United States in Armenia, it is possible that American interest in  the entire range of Armenia's strategic resources, from critical  minerals to shale reserves, will gradually expand. All of this is  gradually taking on a new character of resource colonization. TRIP is  one of the pillars of this strategy," the political scientist noted.