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EU to File Antitrust Charges Against Gazprom

ENLARGE Margrethe Vestager said in February that she was ready to file formal charges against Gazprom in a “relatively short time span.” Photo: Olivier Hoslet/European Pressphoto Agency The European Union’s competition regulator plans to file formal antitrust charges against Russia’s state-owned gas company OAO Gazprom on Wednesday, a person familiar with the matter said Monday, a step set to escalate the standoff between Europe and Moscow. The European Commission started a formal investigation of Gazprom’s business practices in some eastern and southern European countries in September 2012, saying it suspected the company of abusing its dominant position in those countries’ natural-gas supply. The bloc’s competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, said in February that she was ready to file formal charges against Gazprom in a “relatively short time span.” The person familiar with the commission’s case against Gazprom said that the charge sheet, known as a statement of objections, against the […]

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Energy sanctions economic war, Kremlin says

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev says energy sanctions a result of political brinkmanship over Ukraine. File photo by UPI MOSCOW, April 17 (UPI) — Targeting the Russian oil and gas sector with sanctions is a tacit act of economic warfare, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Friday. "We are in a fundamentally different situation at present: equipment for hydrocarbons production has essentially become a token of political struggle and political bargaining," the prime minister said. Members of the European Union are considering tightening the sanctions noose on Russia as conflict in eastern Ukraine continues. Political upheaval began in former Soviet republic Ukraine in late 2013 as the government in Kiev moved closer to the EU. Sanctions met a Russian move last year to annex the Crimean Peninsula of Ukraine. Medvedev said energy, a prime source of government revenue, was the main target of sanctions . The International Monetary Fund […]

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Russia’s economy shrinks 2-4% despite Putin’s positive spin

The Russian president focused on domestic issues during Thursday’s phone-in Russia’s economy contracted further in the first quarter triggering a 5 per cent slide in the rouble, a day after president Vladimir Putin sought to reassure the nation that the worst of the crisis was over. Monthly statistics published on Friday showed that consumers turned even more bearish in March despite the currency’s recent stabilisation, and economists estimated that gross domestic product was likely to have shrunk by between 2 and 4 per cent in the first quarter. The figures came a day after Mr Putin spent the first hour of a marathon televised call-in show to reassure citizens over the state of the economy. “Nothing has failed and everything is working,” he said. “We have passed the peak of our problems”. Members of Mr Putin’s economic policy team have been talking up the economy for several weeks as […]

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Russia’s Lukoil sets up shop in Iran

Russian oil company Lukoil returns to Iran to await lifting of economic sanctions. Photo by Christopher Halloran/Shutterstock. MOSCOW, April 15 (UPI) — Russian oil company Lukoil said Wednesday it reopened its offices in Iran in anticipation of the full removal of economic sanctions. Lukoil started work in the Anaran reserve area near the border with Iraq in 2003, but was later forced to pull out of Iran as sanctions tightened. Lukoil Deputy Vice President Ravil Maganov said the company was back in Iran . "We look forward to participation in projects in Iran after the sanctions are fully removed", he said. "We are studying geological data on other projects as well." The director of Iran’s National Petroleum Co. last week said foreign investors "will flock to Iran" if a framework nuclear agreement brokered with the help of Russia and other members of the U.N. Security Council, plus Germany, takes […]

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Iran’s Rouhani says nuclear deal possible only if sanctions lifted: state TV

ANKARA (Reuters) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday Tehran will not accept a comprehensive nuclear deal with major powers if all sanctions imposed on Tehran were not lifted, state television reported. "If there is no end to sanctions, there will not be an agreement," Rouhani said in a televised speech in the northern city of Rasht. "The end of these negotiations and a signed deal must include a declaration of cancelling the oppressive sanctions on the great nation of Iran." Rouhani also said the U.S. Congress’ power to review a nuclear deal with Iran was a domestic matter. "We are in talks with the major powers and not with the Congress," he said, adding Iran wanted to end its isolation by having "constructive interaction with the world and not confrontation". (Additional reporting by Sam Wilkin in Dubai, Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Janet Lawrence )

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Russia in Active Consultations with OPEC

ENLARGE Arkady Dvorkovich, Russia’s deputy prime minister, at the World Economic Forum in Davos this year. He said on Wednesday that the Russian Energy Ministry was continuing to conduct active consultations with the European Union, Asia-Pacific countries, the Middle Eas and with countries of Latin America. Photo: Bloomberg News MOSCOW—Russia is conducting “unprecedentedly active” consultations with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries but isn’t discussing oil production cuts to support prices, Russian officials said on Wednesday. The consultations come after several months of low oil prices that are putting pressure on Russia’s budget and currency , but Russian officials poured cold water on any suggestion of coordinated production cuts. “The Energy Ministry is continuing to conduct active consultations and work with the European Union, countries of the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, including within the framework of OPEC, as well as with the countries of Latin America,” Deputy […]

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Russia opens way to missile deliveries to Iran, starts oil-for-goods swap

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia paved the way on Monday for missile system deliveries to Iran and started an oil-for-goods swap, signaling that Moscow may have a head-start in the race to benefit from an eventual lifting of sanctions on Tehran. The moves come after world powers, including Russia, reached an interim deal with Iran this month on curbing its nuclear program. The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin signed a decree ending a self-imposed ban on delivering the S-300 anti-missile rocket system to Iran, removing a major irritant between the two after Moscow canceled a corresponding contract in 2010 under pressure from the West. A senior government official said separately that Russia has started supplying grain, equipment and construction materials to Iran in exchange for crude oil under a barter deal. Sources told Reuters more than a year ago that a deal worth up to $20 billion was being discussed […]

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Russia’s Gazprom warns EU over gas, Ukraine

BERLIN/MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s top gas producer Gazprom warned the European Union on Monday against moves to block Moscow’s plans to bypass Ukraine as a transit country for its gas to Europe and said it needed guarantees on gas purchases. Russia is pushing ahead with plans to build a pipeline to Turkey and further on to Greece via the Black Sea, in line with its plans to stop exporting gas via Ukraine by 2019. Moscow had to drop its $40 billion South Stream pipeline via Bulgaria to Europe last year, saying it was blocked by EU regulations, choosing the Turkish Stream project instead. "If someone thinks about blocking Turkish Stream … it is a very serious mistake," Gazprom head Alexei Miller told a conference in Berlin, adding volumes could go to other markets and construction of the pipeline could be paused if necessary. Speaking to reporters in Berlin, Russian […]

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Gazprom chief warns EU over pricing challenge

A worker fits an OAO Gazprom branded protective end cap to a seamless steel pipe destined for use in the company’s South Stream gas pipeline, at the Vyksa Steel Works, operated by the United Metallurgical Co. (OMK), in Vyksa, Russia, on Tuesday, April 15, 2014. Russian equities trading in New York fell for a third day, the longest slide in a month, as clashes in eastern Ukraine added to speculation that the U.S. and Europe will step up economic sanctions against the Kremlin. Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg Gazprom , Russia’s state controlled gas exporter, has said attempts by Brussels to crack down on its pricing model will backfire — and trigger higher average energy costs across Europe. Alexei Miller, chief executive, issued the warning on Monday as the European Union prepares a landmark antitrust case over accusations that Gazprom overcharged customers in eastern Europe. Brussels is also drawing up plans […]

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Putin’s Surprising New Ruble Problem Threatens Russian Coffers

Downside of ruble rally: Price of Brent crude at four-year lows impinges on Russia’s potential budget revenue Vladimir Putin is facing a problem few could have anticipated: The ruble is becoming too strong. Last year’s worst-performing major currency is this year’s best and while that’s buoying the nation’s bonds, driving yields to the lowest in four months, it’s also crimping Russia’s export revenue. Even though oil is little changed in dollars this year, the price when converted to rubles has plunged to the lowest since 2011. The currency rout in 2014 helped Russia to keep its budget deficit within 1 percent of gross domestic product as the ruble weakened in lockstep with a 50 percent slump in oil. Now, with the cease-fire in Ukraine and the allure of higher-yielding assets attracting investors to ruble debt, the government is seeing the opposite effect. “The current ruble level is already uncomfortable […]

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