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Second Natural Gas Pipeline to Link Russia, China

Russia and China could soon sign another major contract for gas pipeline construction after inking a landmark 30-year gas deal in Shanghai during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s state visit in May, a senior Russian official said Wednesday. “Given the pace of Chinese economic growth … with an agreement on the compromise (gas) price formulas having been achieved, it is very likely that a contract could be signed in the very near future for the construction of a western route (gas pipeline) that will fully cross the Siberian Federal District,” Russian Presidential Administration Chief Sergei Ivanov told reporters in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk. He said the contract on the western route, also called the Altai Natural Gas Pipeline, might be “less capital-intensive” than the eastern one, but “it’s no doubt going to cost us tens of billions of dollars,” ITAR-Tass news agency reported. The official said this project, like […]

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Will the curse of oil drag down Vladimir Putin?

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin (R) reviews a map during a meeting with Alexei Miller, the CEO of Russian gas monopoly Gazprom, at Putin’s residence outside Moscow on Oct. 29, 2012.Alexei Nikolsky / AFP / Getty Images We will look back at 2014 as the year Russian President Vladimir Putin pushed all his chips into the center of the table — risking everything to make Russia a world power again. Even his apologists now acknowledge that Putin wants to resurrect the Russian empire with most of the Soviet Union’s lost territories either incorporated into Russia, as with Crimea, or in its orbit, similar to eastern Ukraine and Belarus, as well as the Caucasian and Central Asian states. The range of Putin’s geostrategic tools is also on display: the Eurasian Union, military brawn and proxy militias in the near abroad, and Russia’s petroleum exports as the main source of income and […]

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U.S. sees no signs of Iranian oil deal with Russia

There are no indications Iran has reached a deal to swap oil for goods with the Russian government, a U.S. State Department spokeswoman said. Iran in April said it was in serious negotiations with the Russian government to swap oil for goods. In a letter sent Monday, U.S. Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said sanctions on Iran’s energy sector should be able to interrupt the deal. "It is very troubling that a potential agreement with Russia could allow Iran to increase its oil exports by nearly 500,000 additional barrels per day," his letter to Secretary of State John Kerry read. Marie Harf, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, told reporters during her regular press briefing Tuesday, however, that no such arrangement was in place. "We have no indications that reports of an oil-for-goods deal have moved forward with Russia," […]

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Pipeline Talks Pause Until Russia Respects International Law, EU Says — Report

Talks between Russia and the European Union about the South Stream gas pipeline are on hold because of the Ukraine crisis, European Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said, according to a newspaper report on Sunday. "We will continue the talks when the Russian partners stick to international law again," the energy commissioner told Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. Talks about the pipeline, which is supposed to bring Russian natural gas to the EU once it has been constructed, are faltering because the Ukraine crisis eclipses everything, Mr. Oettinger said, according to the newspaper. He added that Russia would also have to be willing to cooperate on the basis of EU energy law as an additional precondition for continuing talks about the pipeline, according to FAS. Write to Friedrich Geiger at [email protected]

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EIA: Russian gas pipeline exports to Western Europe up 20%

In 2013, Russia’s natural gas pipeline exports to Eastern and Western Europe averaged 15.6 bcfd, a 16% rise compared with 2012, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration, Eastern Bloc Research, and Russian Energy Monthly. The increase was mainly driven by exports to Western Europe, which rose by 20% to 12.3 bcfd. “The entire increase in Russian natural gas exports to Western Europe in 2013 occurred in three countries—Italy, Germany, and the UK,” EIA said. Italy had the largest increase in gas pipeline imports from Russia in 2013, receiving 2.4 bcfd and reflecting a 1 bcfd increase over 2012. Germany and the UK’s imports from Russia increased in 2013 to 3.9 bcfd and 1.2 bcfd, respectively, 0.7 bcfd and 0.4 bcfd more than in 2012. Italy can receive Russian gas on the Bratstvo (Brotherhood) and Soyuz (Union) pipelines, which pass through Ukraine. Germany can receive Russian […]

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Ukraine Moves Toward Gas Debt Compromise with Russia

By Alexander Kolyandr MOSCOW–Ukraine took a step toward compromise over its huge gas debt to Russia Thursday, approving a measure that would allow the state gas company Nafotgaz to pay off $2 billion to Moscow this week as agreed in a tentative deal mediated by the European Union. Kiev still hasn’t officially confirmed it will make the payment, despite Moscow’s threat to demand prepayment for future supplies starting next week, a move that could lead to a cutoff of shipments. Officials from Ukraine, Russia and the EU are scheduled to meet in Berlin Friday for more talks on a compromise. The Ukrainian government on Thursday formally increased the charter capital of Naftogaz, a technical step necessary to allow the government to transfer the money to the company to make the payment. However, a Naftogaz spokesperson couldn’t immediately comment on whether the payment would be made. Moscow and the EU […]

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Russian Gas Deliveries to Europe to Continue Uninterrupted

Russian natural gas deliveries to Europe ‎should continue uninterrupted in June as commercial disputes between Russia and Ukraine can be resolved in short order, Europe’s commissioner for energy said on Tuesday. "I’m quite optimistic we can [regarding to Europe] in the next days," Günther Oettinger said in Prague after meeting with the Czech foreign minister. Russia has threatened to halt European Union-bound ‎ due to its failure to pay for deliveries between November and May. The stoppage could be averted however by a compromise solut‎ion in which Ukraine pays part of its outstanding bill as a show of good faith while it negotiates a new price for future deliveries. The future price should be closer to the market price that Russia’s OAO Gazprom charges its EU customers, he said. To limit the risk to EU energy security, Mr. Oettinger said the bloc and member states should bolster gas storage […]

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EU, Russia, Ukraine propose deal to break gas impasse

BRUSSELS, May 27 (UPI) –Russian energy company Gazprom agrees to keep gas flowing through Ukraine for June without pre-payment from Ukraine, the European Union said. European Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger met with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and his Ukrainian counterpart, Yuri Prodan, to settle lingering issues in the Ukrainian natural gas sector. The European Commission said Monday " substantial progress " has been made, though there were no major breakthroughs. Russian energy company Gazprom said Ukraine would have to pay in advance for natural gas unless it settles a multi-billion dollar gas bill. Ukraine hosts the bulk of Russia’s gas delivered for Europe and the stalemate has put the region’s energy security at risk. The European Commission said Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz agrees to pay $2 billion by Friday and another $500 million by June 7 to settle its outstanding debts. "Gazprom agrees to continue to supply gas […]

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Russian Gas Reliance in Europe Skewing Sanctions Debate

European leaders, while calling Ukraine’s May 25 presidential election a success, are still facing a deeper dilemma: how to free their countries from an addiction to Russian energy. Pro-European billionaire Petro Poroshenko’s victory has relieved the immediate pressure on the U.S. and the European Union to impose tougher sanctions against Russia. “The successful holding of these elections constitutes a major step towards the objective of de-escalating tensions and restoring security for all Ukrainians,” European Commission President Jose Barrosoand EU President Herman Van Rompuy said in a joint statement yesterday. The European and American reluctance to escalate in the wake of an election that was at least a partial success, a U.S. official said yesterday, suggests that by finally tempering his actions and rhetoric, Russian President Vladimir Putin may have achieved much of what he sought in Ukraine. Russia’s ever-changing mix of covert action, economic threats and the annexation of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple