One flaw: If my country is too poor to import any oil, and we have none to start with, our GDP-PPP/oil consumption number is going to be infinite. This doesn't mean we are well positioned for the bidding war-- it means we are out of it. And bidding wars for natural resources only work as long as the results of the market equal or better than the results that can be obtained by other means, in some famous German's phrase. In that regard, Chinese armies can walk everywhere in the Middle East. American armies will have to fly in on synfuel.

Ole: Good point-it depends how it plays out. In reality, globalization is about making the world more fun for wealthy Americans, wealthy Chinese, wealthy Indians. If the forces behind increased globalization can hold it together for a while, the wealthy in all these countries will bid against the working and middle class. Globalization wants the oil to flow towards the highest return (India and China)-other interests might work against this "free market globalization" drive.