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Russia, China to work on floating nuclear plants

A subsidiary of Russian state nuclear energy company Rosatom said Tuesday it signed an agreement to build floating nuclear power plants with China. "The potential use of floating nuclear power plants is significant," Dzhomart Aliev, chief executive officer at Rusatom Overseas, said in a statement . "The design provides for two options — self-propelled or barge-mounted floating nuclear power plants." The company signed a memorandum of intent to develop floating nuclear power plants with its Chinese counterparts, CNNC New Energy. The signing came as Chinese delegates spent a week touring St. Petersburg and Moscow. Russian interests have pivoted to the East, where Asian economic performance translates to greater demand for the energy products supporting the Russian economy. In May, Russian President Vladimir Putin and special envoy to the Far East Yuri Trutnev said they expected the region would attract as much as $65 billion in new investments. Aliev said […]

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BP frets over ‘strategic objectives in Russia’

British energy company BP said Tuesday its second quarter profits soared, but any additional sanctions could impact "strategic objectives in Russia." BP reported second quarter replacement cost profits, a measure that eliminates oil price volatility, at $3.2 billion, up 34 percent from the same period in 2013. BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley said in a statement cash flow during the second quarter was "robust." The company attributed its strong second quarter to upstream operations in the Gulf of Mexico and overhauls at its refinery in Whiting, Indiana. Elsewhere, the company said sanctions on the Russian energy sector, particularly oil company Rosneft, could impact business operations in Russia. "Any future erosion of our relationship with Rosneft, or the impact of further economic sanctions, could adversely impact our business and strategic objectives in Russia, the level of our income, production and reserves, our investment in Rosneft and our reputation," the company […]

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BP frets over 'strategic objectives in Russia'

British energy company BP said Tuesday its second quarter profits soared, but any additional sanctions could impact "strategic objectives in Russia." BP reported second quarter replacement cost profits, a measure that eliminates oil price volatility, at $3.2 billion, up 34 percent from the same period in 2013. BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley said in a statement cash flow during the second quarter was "robust." The company attributed its strong second quarter to upstream operations in the Gulf of Mexico and overhauls at its refinery in Whiting, Indiana. Elsewhere, the company said sanctions on the Russian energy sector, particularly oil company Rosneft, could impact business operations in Russia. "Any future erosion of our relationship with Rosneft, or the impact of further economic sanctions, could adversely impact our business and strategic objectives in Russia, the level of our income, production and reserves, our investment in Rosneft and our reputation," the company […]

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Europe, U.S. Significantly Expand Sanctions Against Russian Economy

President Barack Obama said the U.S. is intensifying its economic sanctions against Russia, hitting Moscow’s energy, arms and banking industries in response to what he said was President Vladimir Putin’s continued fueling of violence in eastern Ukraine. Jerry Seib joins the News Hub with Sara Murray. Photo: Getty Images. The U.S. and the European Union adopted sweeping economic sanctions against Russia on Tuesday to punish Moscow’s unbending stance in the Ukraine conflict. The question for the West now is whether the move will make Russian President Vladimir Putin more cooperative or prompt him to dig in. The trade and investment restrictions that EU governments, after much agonizing, agreed upon mark a major escalation of sanctions against Russia, which so far have been mostly token measures targeting individuals. New measures hitting Russia’s banks, oil industry and military could increase financial strains in its already sluggish economy while withholding technology that […]

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As Sanctions Pile Up, Russians’ Alarm Grows Over Putin Tactics

Russia, facing the toughest round of Western sanctions imposed since the Ukraine crisis erupted, has adopted a nonchalant public stance, with President Vladimir V. Putin emphasizing the importance of self-reliance and a new poll released Tuesday indicating a “What, me worry?” attitude among the bulk of the population. But beneath that calm facade, there is growing alarm in Russia that the festering turmoil in Ukraine and the new round of far more punitive sanctions — announced Tuesday by both European nations and the United States — will have an impact on Russia’s relations with the West for years to come and damage the economy to the extent that ordinary Russians feel it. Until now, Mr. Putin’s tactics seemed to be working. Russia was feeding the separatist insurgency in Ukraine without leaving distinct fingerprints — able to press Kiev to come to terms while avoiding a rupture with […]

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Coordinated Sanctions Aim at Russia’s Ability to Tap Its Oil Reserves

The United States and Europe kicked off a joint effort on Tuesday intended to curb Russia’s long-term ability to develop new oil resources, taking aim at the Kremlin’s premier source of wealth and power in retaliation for its intervention in Ukraine. In announcing coordinated sanctions, American and European leaders went beyond previous moves against banking and defense industries in an effort to curtail Russia’s access to Western technology as it seeks to tap new Arctic, deep sea and shale oil reserves. The goal was not to inhibit current oil production but to cloud Russia’s energy future. The new strategy took direct aim at the economic foundation of Russia, which holds the largest combined oil and gas reserves in the world. The growth of the oil industry in the last two decades has powered Russia’s economic and geopolitical resurgence since the collapse of the Soviet Union and enriched […]

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Ukraine army closes in on Donetsk

Ukraine’s army has said it has retaken a town on the outskirts of the main rebel stronghold of Donetsk, and intercepted another convoy of vehicles crossing over from Russia. Government forces said in a statement on Wednesday that they had seized control of Avdiyivka, a town of about 40,000 about a dozen kilometres north of Donetsk, as Ukraine tightened its grip around the key rebel bastion. The Ukrainian government said on its website that 19 people had died in the fighting in the past 24 hours, with 31 people injured. Elsewhere, clashes continued around the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, with government forces saying they were conducting a "mopping up" operation in the town of Ilovaysk, about 40km west of the site. International observers announced they had turned back from another attempt to reach crash site after discussions with rebels, AP news agency reported. Safety concerns and […]

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U.S., EU Ready New Sanctions as Russia Prepares Response

The U.S. and the European Union may move as soon as today to impose tougher sanctions on Russia as Vladimir Putin ’s government formulates its response to the growing international pressure. The sanctions target “key sectors” of Russia’s economy — finance, defense and energy — and are being imposed in the face of Putin “doubling down” in support of separatists battling Ukrainian troops, U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Tony Blinken said yesterday. EU governments agreed yesterday to impose travel bans and asset freezes on Putin’s “cronies.” “The longer this goes on, there is the risk of further outrageous actions by the separatists or by Russia that deepen the international crisis,” Blinken said. “So there’s a need to take further action now to convince Russia to change course.” ‘Concrete Steps’ Russia hasn’t effectively put pressure on the separatists to force them to negotiate and hasn’t taken the “concrete steps” asked […]

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BP warns of impact of Russia sanctions on profits

Energy company BP warned Tuesday that further international sanctions on Russia could hurt its profits because of its stake in the country’s oil giant, Rosneft. The company said any erosion of its relationship with Rosneft – which is majority controlled by the Russian state, with BP holding a 19.75 percent stake – could also adversely impact its reputation. The U.S. has already put sanctions on Rosneft’s president and prohibited the company from tapping U.S. markets to raise money. The European Union is this week also considering broadening its sanctions to prohibit state-owned companies from using European capital markets. "If further international sanctions are imposed on Rosneft or new sanctions are imposed on Russia or other Russian individuals or entities, this could have a material adverse impact on our relationship with and investment in Rosneft, our business and strategic objectives in Russia and our financial position and […]

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Hague court rules in favor of Yukos shareholders vs Russia, awards $50 billion: source

The Hague’s arbitration court has ruled in favor of a group of shareholders in defunct oil giant Yukos against Russia, awarding compensation of around $50 billion, a source close to the ruling said on Monday. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague is expected to announce later today that Russia must pay the compensation – half of the original $100 billion claim – to former shareholders in the company, once Russia’s largest oil producer. The claim in the Hague was made by subsidiaries of Gibraltar-based Group Menatep, a company through which Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once Russia’s richest man, controlled Yukos. Group Menatep now exists as holding company GML and Khodorkovsky is no longer a shareholder in GML or Yukos. (Reporting by Megan Davies , editing by Elizabeth Piper)

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple