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Europe leans on Ukrainian energy company

A European energy administration agency said Monday the Ukrainian government needs to examine its contractual relationship with Russian energy company Gazprom. The European Energy Secretariat sent a letter to Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuri Prodan calling for an assessment of the contract between Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz and Gazprom. Parts of the contract, including the take-or-pay clause requiring Naftogaz to pay for a pre-determined volume of gas, serves to "prevent, restrict and distort competition on the natural gas market in Ukraine and affect trade in natural gas within the [European] energy community," the secretariat said in a statement . Gazprom in June switched Naftogaz over to the new payment scheme because of $4.45 billion in overdue bills. Russia supplies about a quarter of the European Union’s gas needs, though most of those supplies run through the Soviet-era transit network in Ukraine. Debt disputes in 2006 and 2009 prompted Gazprom to […]

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EU finalises Russian sanctions as BP warns of impact on its business

As the EU prepared to impose far-reaching sanctions on Russia on Tuesday, BP became the first big multinational to warn of the potential scale of the damage to its business in the country. The UK oil major, which owns nearly 20 per cent of Rosneft , the Russian oil group that is majority held by the Russian government, said that its increasing profits in Russia could be hit by the growing push for tighter sanctions. Rosneft is already on the US blacklist, but until now has not been covered by restrictions introduced by the EU. More On this story On this topic IN Europe “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 […]

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Europe subdued, Russia shares tumble on new sanctions

LONDON (Reuters) – The euro was stuck near its lowest level since November and Russian shares tumbled for a third straight day on Monday as new European sanctions for Moscow chilled the already frosty relationship between the two. The 28-nation EU reached an outline agreement on Friday on its first economic sanctions on Russia, which said the moves would hamper cooperation between the two and undermine the fight against terrorism. Having suffered on Friday, Europe’s main bourses were again subdued. There was more pain for Russian stocks after a report that shareholders in defunct oil producer Yukos had won a $50 billion international court case against Russia. Moscow’s dollar-denominated RTS index was down 1.6 percent, its rouble-traded peer MICEX traded 0.9 percent lower, and the rouble was down 0.5 percent against the dollar to trade at 35.32. "While the suit has been pending since 2007, any judgment will likely […]

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Russia Steps Up Help for Rebels in Ukraine War

Rather than backing down after last week’s downing of a civilian passenger jet, Russia appears to be intervening more aggressively in the war in eastern Ukraine in what American and Ukrainian officials call a dangerous escalation that will almost certainly force more robust retaliation from the United States and Europe. Russia has increased its direct involvement in fighting between the Ukrainian military and separatist insurgents, moving more of its own troops to the border and preparing to arm the rebels with ever more potent weapons, including high-powered Tornado rocket launchers, American and Ukrainian officials said on Friday. The officials, citing satellite images and other military intelligence, said that Russia had positioned heavy weapons, including tanks and other combat vehicles, at several points along the border where there has been intense fighting. On Thursday, Russia unleashed artillery attacks on eastern Ukraine from Russian territory, officials in Washington […]

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Canada Broadens Sanctions Against Russia

Canada broadened its economic sanctions against the Kremlin, in response to the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, targeting major Russian financial and energy companies as well as Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. Canada’s move on Thursday was signaled earlier in the week and comes as European Union officials are set to announce on Friday a fresh set of wide-ranging sanctions against Russia. Member states of the EU are said to be considering restrictions on Russian access to European financial markets and exports of military-related goods to Russia. Washington also has turned up the pressure on Moscow, leveling accusations about Russia’s role in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. The latest was made on Thursday and suggested Russian artillery are firing across the border at Ukranian military positions. Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Canada would impose economic sanctions and travel bans against eight individuals, all […]

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EIA: Russian export revenue highest for oil

Russia receives more revenue from the export of crude oil and petroleum products than it does from natural gas, the U.S. Energy Department said. The U.S. Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the Energy Department, said in a daily brief exports of crude oil, petroleum products and natural gas accounted for 68 percent of all export revenues in 2013. "Russia received almost four times as much revenue from exports of crude oil and petroleum products as from natural gas," EIA’s Wednesday brief said. "Crude oil exports alone were greater in value than the value of all non-oil and natural gas exports." European leaders are working to break Russia’s control over the regional natural gas market. Most of the Russian gas bound for Europe runs through pipelines in Ukraine, where geopolitical and contractual issues create risks for the European economy. U.S. legislators have proposed liquefied natural gas exports to […]

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Russia Oil Exports by Sea to Reach 6-Year Low on Refining

Russia’s crude exports on tankers are poised to fall to the lowest in at least six years as a government push to improve and expand domestic refineries means more oil is exported as fuels like diesel. Seaborne crude shipments from the world’s biggest energy exporter via the state-run pipeline system in August will fall 9.2 percent from this month to 2.215 million barrels a day, according to loading programs obtained by Bloomberg News . That’s the lowest since Bloomberg began tracking the data in 2008. Russia’s two biggest crude terminals, Primorsk and Novorossiysk, will both export the least on record. Russian oil companies are refining more crude domestically after President Vladimir Putin pushed them to spend billions of dollars modernizing plants. Output of diesel and fuel oil are the highest since at least 2009, Energy Ministry data show. This puts pressure on European refiners who are already receiving less […]

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Oil and natural gas sales accounted for 68% of Russia’s total export revenues in 2013

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Russia Federal Customs Service Note: Natural gas includes liquefied natural gas (LNG) sales. Russia is a major exporter of crude oil, petroleum products, and natural gas. Sales of these fuels accounted for 68% of Russia’s total export revenues in 2013, based on data from Russia’s Federal Customs Service. Russia received almost four times as much revenue from exports of crude oil and petroleum products as from natural gas. Crude oil exports alone were greater in value than the value of all non-oil and natural gas exports. Europe, including Turkey, receives most of Russia’s exports of crude oil and products, as well as virtually all exports of natural gas. Asia (especially China) receives substantial volumes of crude oil and some liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia. Recently, Russia finalized a 30-year, $400 billion deal to supply China with natural gas from fields in Eastern Siberia, […]

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Senate leaders want more Russian sanctions

In light of Russia’s stance on the crash of the Malaysia Airlines plane, three U.S. Senators said broader sanctions on Russia’s energy sector are warranted. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said there was a growing body of evidence to suggest Russia may be tied to the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 last week. The passenger jet crashed near the eastern Ukrainian border with Russia, an area of operations for pro-Russian separatists. U.S. Sens. Bob Menendez , D-N.J., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Dianne Feinstein , D-Calif., chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and Carl Levin , D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee called on President Barack Obama to take a tough stance on Russia in light of the tragedy. "We write to express our outrage over the wanton destruction of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, and to ask that you consider imposing […]

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Russian oil company surveying arctic ecosystem

Russian independent oil producer Rosneft said Wednesday it’s working to set an environmental baseline to review as it readies for work in arctic reserves. Rosneft and U.S. energy company Exxon Mobil signed a cooperation agreement in 2011 to develop three reserve areas in the Kara Sea, located within the Arctic Circle. The company said Wednesday it was studying the marine ecosystem to get a better understanding of the potential impact of offshore exploration. "The objective of the said studies is collection of data on marine fauna in Rosneft license areas with a view to building a complete and detailed picture of the baseline environment state and developing a set of environmental controls to be applied during hydrocarbons exploration and production," it said . Advocacy groups like Greenpeace have expressed concern about oil operations in the pristine arctic environment, saying the remote and extreme location may present obstacles to responding […]

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