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Europe supply in jeopardy as Putin warns of Ukraine gas cut

Vladimir Putin warned that Russia was poised to halt gas supplies to Ukraine – placing European customers in jeopardy – unless immediate action was taken to resolve Kiev’s unpaid bills. In a letter to European leaders , the Russian president said state-controlled had a contractual right to force Ukraine to pay in advance for gas supplies, and would “completely or partially cease gas deliveries” if further payment violations occurred. The letter is the first time Moscow has so clearly threatened to cut gas supplies to Ukraine , a key transit route for 15 per cent of European gas. Kiev on Friday announced it had signed a contract with Westinghouse Electric Company, based in the US, to extend the supply of nuclear fuel to Ukraine’s 15 atomic power plants until 2020, thereby reducing the country’s dependence on Russian sources. It came as Kiev was still locked in a stand-off […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Putin Warns Gas Taps to Ukraine Could Be Turned Off

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned leaders in Europe on Thursday that Russia could cut supplies of natural gas to Ukraine if its unpaid bill isn’t addressed, potentially disrupting deliveries to the rest of the continent. In a letter sent to leaders in countries reliant on Russian gas, Mr. Putin ramped up pressure on the fledgling government in Kiev, repeating his threat that Russia may have to take the "extreme measure" of making Ukraine pays in advance for the gas it uses. He called for emergency talks with Europe to resolve the matter. "In the event of further violation of the conditions of payment, [state-run gas company Gazprom] will completely or partially cease gas deliveries," the letter stated. "We fully realize that this increases the risk of siphoning off natural gas passing through Ukraine’s territory and heading to European consumers. We […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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BP Can Be Bridge Between Russia, West

PLC can play an "important role" as a bridge between the West and Russia, which remains vital for Europe’s energy security, Chief Executive Bob Dudley said Thursday. BP, the biggest foreign investor in Russia’s oil sector, will continue to seek ways of developing its business there, even as tensions grow with the U.S. and Europe over the crisis in Ukraine. "That has got to continue," Mr. Dudley said, in relation to its business in Russia. Mr. Dudley, who was addressing shareholders at the U.K.-based oil and gas company’s annual general meeting, said the situation regarding Ukraine was still very tense. BP has a 20% stake in Russia’s state-owned oil and gas company Rosneft . Mr. Dudley’s views were challenged by some investors, who cast doubt over the influence that BP, which holds a single seat on Rosneft’s board, could wield in reality. "If something should turn foul, should […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Russia says South Stream gas pipeline would help EU

The planned South Stream natural gas pipeline for Europe is more important than ever given ongoing crises in Ukraine, the Russian envoy to the EU said. Ukrainian and Russian officials have warned European natural gas supplies are at risk because of lingering contractual disputes that grew out of the political upheaval in Ukraine. European consumers get about a quarter of their gas needs met by Russia, though the bulk of those supplies run through the Soviet-era gas transit system in Ukraine. Russian Ambassador to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov told Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti the South Stream pipeline, which avoids Ukrainian territory, was more important than ever. "I believe the relevance of the South Stream project has risen amid the Ukrainian crisis, because we have already heard not threats, but hints from Ukrainian authorities, including interim Prime Minister [Arseniy] Yatsenyuk, of yet […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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US threatening tougher sanctions on Russia

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew is warning Russia that it could face tougher economic sanctions because of its actions in Ukraine but so far other economic powers are showing a reluctance to go as far as the United States. Lew delivered his warning Thursday to Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, telling him that the Obama administration was willing to impose "additional significant sanctions" if Russia escalates the Ukraine situation. Treasury said in a statement that Lew described Russia’s annexation of Crimea as "illegal and illegitimate." Lew met Siluanov in advance of talks between finance ministers and central bank presidents of the Group of Seven major economic powers and a broader Group of 20, which includes the traditional powers and emerging economies such as China, Brazil and India. Lew’s tough language did not find its way into a joint statement from the G-7, and there was no hint […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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U.S. accuses Russia after Putin warning on gas supplies to Europe

President Vladimir Putin warned on Thursday that Russian gas supplies to Europe could be disrupted if Moscow cuts the flow to Ukraine over unpaid bills, drawing a U.S. accusation that it is using energy "as a tool of coercion". In a letter to the leaders of 18 European countries, Putin made clear that his patience would run out over Kiev’s $2.2 billion gas debt to Russia unless a solution could be brokered urgently. Russia has nearly doubled the gas price it charges Ukraine, whose economy is in crisis, since pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovich was overthrown two months ago. Russia then annexed the Ukrainian region of Crimea, provoking the biggest confrontation with the West since the Cold War. Putin said Russian exporter Gazprom would demand advance payment for gas supplies to Ukraine and "in the event of further violation of the conditions of payment will completely or […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Russian Deals Face Scrutiny, Firms Urged to List at Home

After a decade of snuggling up together, Russia Inc. and the global capital markets that finance it are starting to drift apart. Russia’s first deputy prime minister, Igor Shuvalov , this week encouraged domestic companies to delist their shares from overseas stock exchanges, where giants like OAO Gazprom and OAO Sberbank trade, for the sake of “economic security.” At the same time, U.S. and European banks such as Citigroup Inc. and Deutsche Bank AG are putting their business with Russian companies under the microscope as the Ukraine crisis continues. The moves on both sides herald a partial decoupling of Russia from the global financial system as the European Union and U.S. threaten economic retaliation for President Vladimir Putin ’s annexation of Crimea. That would make it harder for Russian companies to obtain foreign capital while hurting efforts by global banks to expand in an important emerging market. Despite the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Commentary: The Greens’ Peak-Oil Limits-to-Growth Apocalypse that wasn’t

Saved Save Article My Saved Items « » 2014-04-10T05:30:00Z Commentary: The Greens’ Peak-Oil Limits-to-Growth Apocalypse that wasn’t By RON KNECHT Elko Daily Free Press A few years ago, some experts predicted the world was about to reach a peak in global oil and gas production to be followed soon by marked decline. It would cause “war, famine, pestilence and death” — the biblical Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Another version: “war, starvation, economic recession, possibly even the extinction of homo sapiens.” Or, peak oil and gas “represents a mortal threat to the U.S. economy” and we “could plunge into a new Dark Age … in an overheated world.” This one lamented that it might well exacerbate “global warming” and thus it called for higher energy taxes and increased limits on coal alternatives. Besides the extravagant rhetoric typical of environmentalists, the Politically Correct and other statist liberals, even when these […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA
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Worldwatch Institute: global biofuel production fell in 2012 for first time since 2000

In 2012, the combined global production of ethanol and biodiesel fell for the first time since 2000, down 0.4% from the figure in 2011, according to the Worldwatch Institute’s latest Vital Signs Online report. Global ethanol production declined slightly for the second year in a row, to 83.1 billion liters (22 billion gallons US), while biodiesel output rose fractionally, from 22.4 billion liters in 2011 to 22.5 billion liters (5.9 billion gallons US) in 2012. Biodiesel now accounts for more than 20% of global biofuel production, according to the report. Biofuels for transport—essentially ethanol and biodiesel—account for about 0.8% of global energy use, 8% of global primary energy derived from biomass, 3.4% of global road transport fuels, and 2.5% of all transport fuels. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Crude Oil Slides After Weak China Trade, Oil-Import Data

Crude-oil futures fell in early Asian trade Thursday reversing overnight gains on weak China trade data and rising U.S. oil supply. On the New York Mercantile Exchange light, sweet crude futures for delivery in May traded at $103.31 a barrel at 0446 GMT–down $0.29 in the Globex electronic session. May Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell $0.41 to $107.57 a barrel. China’s total exports fell 6.6% year over year in March, data from the General Administration of Customs showed Thursday. A median forecast predicted 4.2% growth. Imports also fell 11.3%–missing a median forecast for a 2.8% increase. "China is the world’s second-largest oil consumer after the U.S. The weak exports highlighted a possible further contraction in the nation’s manufacturing sector and exacerbating slowdown thereby trimming demand prospects for crude oil," analyst Tan Chee Tat at Phillip Futures said. China’s crude-oil imports also fell 8% […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple