Oil SDR’s and the New Currency Basket

Oil SDR’s and the New Currency Basket
May 16, 2014
By JC Collins



Oil, along with other commodities, will soon be priced in the Special Drawing Right issued by the International Monetary Fund.  This was first mentioned back in 1979 in  a secret White House memo written by Henry Owen for President Jimmy Carter.

In that memo, it is stated that if oil were to be priced in SDR’s then the value of the U.S. dollar would be affected on the exchange markets due to lower demand.  Though the price of oil itself would see little change if priced in SDR’s.  The recommendation at the time was to keep oil priced in dollars.


Todays things have changed dramatically as the world is shifting away from the dollar as the reserve currency.  It is inevitable that oil will be priced in something other than dollars.



The likelihood is that oil trade deals will be first denominated in regional currencies such as the Russian ruble and Chinese yuan.  This will increase the demand for some form of multilateral reserve currency agreement to ensure a level playing field between markets and regions.

The SDR will be offered up as the obvious solution.  In order for that to happen the basket of currencies from which the SDR gets its value will have to be expanded to include Russia and China, and most likely Canada and Australia as well.

This is why Ukraine, Syria, Libya, Egypt, and now Vietnam are such important factors in the emergence of the more powerful SDR.  Each country is either directly involved in the production of oil and gas or are located on or near transport roots by which energy is traded.

Those who work in the Canadian oil and gas industry have watched over the last 5 years as massive infrastructure and transport projects have been started to facilitate the explosive growth which will take place when the SDR pricing begins.

Canadian mining is on the verge of a massive realization of potential.  Its as if all the bases are loaded and the best batter just stepped up to the plate.

The same can be said for other regions of the world.  Vietnam’s off-shore oil fields will be further developed as demonstrated by the urgency of China’s placement of their massive drilling platform in Vietnams Economic Zone.



What has been happening over the last 6 years since the financial crisis is becoming clearer and clearer.  The move away from the dollar is quickening at a rate that is surprising the most hardened critic of dollar alternatives.

Canada is now backing off on sanctions against Russia.  As reported in this RT article:

Canada has chosen not to impose sanctions against two of Russia’s top officials already targeted by the US – Rosneft’s Sechin and Rostec’s Chemezov. Reports say Ottawa doesn’t want politics to be hurting one of the country’s biggest business projects.


“Our goal is to sanction Russia, it is not to go out of our way to sanction or penalize Canadian companies,” as Reuters quotes a Canadian government source familiar with Ottawa’s sanctions strategy.


“We will continue to apply pressure to Russia, we will continue to impose sanctions along with our allies, but we will also look out for Canada’s broader interests,” it added.


Sergei Chemezov is head of state-owned industrial and defense conglomerate, Rostec. The company has an aircraft assembly joint venture lined up with Bombardier Inc – a deal vital for the Canadian plane and train maker. Last year the two companies signed a $3.4 billion deal to sell 100 short – haul aircraft in Russia. Another Bombardier interest in Russia includes a long-standing joint venture in its rail business.


Igor Sechin is CEO of oil giant, Rosneft, which owns some 30 percent of an Exxon Mobil Corp oil field in the western province of Alberta.


All roads are now leading away from the dollar.  The aggressive measures which the G20 countries discussed back in Feb are now being realized.  The International Monetary Fund will have no choice but to collectively remove the veto power of the United States and allow the Executive Board to be restructured.  The BRICS Bank will join the World Bank in a common cause under the IMF banner with the Bank for International Settlements acting as the clearing house.

With this restructuring will come the merging of the Euro-Atlantic financial powers with the Euro-Asian financial powers.  The semi-fiat semi-commodity SDR supra-sovereign reserve currency is on the way.  – JC

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