We’ve been watching with great interest the series of long term oil deals being signed by the Chinese, and now Steve LeVine has a pretty good analytical piece up explaining how the current underinvestment in production is going to lead to another boom cycle in prices – however this time the power politics dynamics could be different – not tilting toward the multinationals or state-owned companies, but perhaps their new Asian financiers.

The Brazilian case is perhaps more important because it appears on the cusp of the country becoming a huge petro-power on the backs of an estimated 12 billion barrels of offshore oil; Brazil itself says it may possess an additional 100 billion barrels of oil.

Because the oil has been found in extremely deep water, analysts have forecast that Petrobras will need Big Oil’s cash and capabilities in order to develop it. Indeed already Exxon Mobil, Amerada Hess and BG are among companies working offshore in Brazil. But if China remains open-walleted, there will probably be less need for more cooperation with multi-nationals.