Category:

U.S. and European Sanctions Take Aim at Putin’s Economic Efforts

WASHINGTON — The United States and the European Union moved on Friday to shut down Western aid to Russian deepwater, Arctic offshore and shale oil exploration, broadening and deepening the range of sanctions imposed on Moscow in retaliation for its intervention in Ukraine despite the potential cost to Western firms like Exxon Mobil and BP. With twin announcements in Washington and Brussels, the new measures targeting Russia’s energy development came in addition to further limits on access to American and European capital markets, making it harder for Russian banks to obtain any credit in foreign capitals beyond short-term loans. The United States specifically targeted Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, for the first time. The Europeans also banned travel by and froze the assets of 24 more individuals, including Russian lawmakers and others who have supported President Vladimir V. Putin over Ukraine, while the Americans blocked the assets of five Russian […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

U.S., EU Widen Sanctions on Russia

A logo stands on display on the front of an OAO Rosneft gas station in Moscow. The U.S. and European Union announced new sanctions Friday that target Russian Arctic and shale-oil projects, which could affect a partnership between Rosneft and Exxon Mobil. Bloomberg News The U.S. joined the European Union in expanding sanctions to target Russian Arctic and shale-oil projects and further limit financing to Russian state-controlled companies, a move to put pressure on Moscow as Ukraine negotiates a long-term peace plan and closer ties to the EU. The energy sanctions announced Friday, widely expected in recent days , will prevent Western energy firms from providing technology and services—other than financial services—to five Russian energy majors’ oil projects in the Arctic, deep offshore fields and shale, the U.S. Treasury Department said. U.S. companies have two weeks to comply with the sanctions, likely meaning an end for now to Exxon […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Russia Weighs Response as U.S. and EU Add More Sanctions

Russia threatened retaliation against a U.S. and European Union decision to stiffen sanctions against Moscow because of Ukraine and may ban some imports including clothing and used cars. The EU added 15 companies , including OAO Gazprom (OGZD) Neft, OAO Rosneft (ROSN) and OAO Transneft, and 24 people to the list of those affected by its sanctions against Russia. European companies and taxpayers “will have to pick up the costs” for the penalties, Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin , told Interfax yesterday. The U.S. will “deepen and broaden” its measures against Russia’s financial, energy and defense industries, President Barack Obama said yesterday. The moves raise the level of confrontation and follow reprisals last month, when the Russian leader banned a range of food imports after an earlier round of U.S. and European penalties. Putin denies any involvement in the fighting that broke out after he […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Sanctions Over Ukraine Put Exxon at Risk

When Exxon Mobil Corp. Chief Executive Rex Tillerson detailed a deal to drill for oil in Russia’s Arctic Sea two years ago, he predicted that the project would strengthen the ties between the U.S. and Russia. Instead, Exxon has wound up in the cross hairs of U.S. foreign policy, which could threaten one of the company’s best chances to find and tap significant—and much needed—amounts of crude oil. The U.S. on Thursday announced new sanctions targeting Russia’s financial, defense and energy sectors in a bid to punish the Kremlin for stoking the military conflict in Ukraine. Details of the sanctions, designed to match new measures imposed by the European Union , are set to be released Friday. A U.S. official said the new penalties would affect Exxon’s current drilling in the icy Kara Sea with its Kremlin-controlled partner, OAO Rosneft , though the extent of the impact was unclear […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Poland Resumes Gas Deliveries to Ukraine

By Patryk Wasilewski WARSAW–Poland resumed deliveries of natural gas to Ukraine on Friday, after supplies from Russian to Poland fell below ordered level earlier this week, the country’s gas network operator said. Poland’s state-controlled PGNiG SA said earlier this week that deliveries from Russia’s OAO Gazprom were 20-24% below increased order levels on Monday and Tuesday, and 45% below on Wednesday. Gazprom said it was delivering unchanged amounts of gas through Monday-Tuesday. PGNiG said it was compensating for the difference by increasing supplies from Germany and the Czech Republic. Before the halt of supplies to Ukraine, Poland supplied about 4 million cubic meters of gas a day to it neighbor, with most of it originating in Russia. Kiev was forced to import gas through Poland and Slovakia after Gazprom halted supplies to Ukraine amid a dispute over prices and unpaid bills. The dispute has been seen as part of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

EU Widens Sanctions on Russian Companies, Individuals Over Ukraine Crisis

By Frances Robinson And Laurence Norman BRUSSELS–The European Union extended its sanctions on Russia and rebels in eastern Ukraine on Friday, adding 15 companies and 24 individuals to its blacklist and imposing new measures against the country’s oil and defense sectors, in an effort to target those dealing with the separatists. The measures, initially approved on Monday, reinforced steps taken in July restricting trade, commerce and financial links with Russia. They will indirectly affect companies including Exxon Mobil Corp., which works with state-controlled oil companies in Russia. Under the widened sanctions list, it is "prohibited to directly or indirectly purchase, sell, provide investment services for or assistance in the issuance of, or otherwise deal with transferable securities and money-market instruments with a maturity exceeding 30 days." As previously reported in The Wall Street Journal, three state-controlled oil companies–OAO Gazpromneft, the oil unit of OAO Gazprom; oil pipeline operator company […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

With Gas Cut Off, Ukraine Looks West

UZHGOROD, Ukraine — Keeping Ukraine warm keeps Andriy Kobolev up at night. Mr. Kobolev, the head of Ukraine’s state energy company, Naftogaz , is scrambling to keep gas flowing into his country as winter looms. Russia’s energy giant, Gazprom, had provided a little more than half of Ukraine’s total gas supply, but suspended its shipments in June in the face of fighting in eastern Ukraine between Russian separatists and the Ukrainian military, citing a price dispute. Europe — itself dependent on Russia but also expanding sanctions on the country — has not been able to fill the gap. That means Ukraine will have to cut its energy use sharply or risk running dry, which could lead to more civilian deaths when the weather turns cold, and could further batter the country’s economy. “The situation is very difficult,” Mr. Kobolev said in a recent interview. “Since we have no choice, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

U.S. Readies New Energy Sanctions on Russia

A sign at an Exxon station in Miami, Fla., on July 31, 2008. Getty Images WASHINGTON—The U.S. is close to imposing the toughest round of energy sanctions so far on Russia, measures that would also hit Western companies like Exxon Mobil that are working with Russian state-controlled oil companies. The sanctions, which the European Union is expected to match, would ban energy companies from working with Russia on future oil exploration in the Russian Arctic, deep seas and shale rock formations, according to a U.S. official. The sanctions wouldn’t affect current oil production, but could imperil the future of existing partnerships, including a deal between Exxon Mobil Corp. and OAO Rosneft , the Kremlin-controlled oil giant, to drill in the Arctic Ocean. Previous sanctions banned only the export of technology that could be used in such projects. Other companies potentially affected include BP PLC and Royal Dutch Shell PLC. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

London watching European gas row closely

LONDON, Sept. 10 (UPI) — Few in the European community could find relief in the event of a winter crisis stemming from transit issues in Ukraine, the British energy minister said. European consumers get about a quarter of their gas needs from Russia, though the bulk of that supply runs through the Soviet-era transit network in Ukraine. "We have looked at our gas resilience to a range of very extreme scenarios, including things we hope do not happen in Ukraine," British Energy Secretary Ed Davey said. Russian energy company Gazprom in 2006 and 2009 cut gas supplies to Ukraine because of contractual disputes. That left downstream consumers in Europe without gas, a situation that could be repeated because of ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine . Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak committed last week to meeting contractual obligations to Europe. Though the United Kingdom does not directly import gas from […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Ukraine says Russia withdrawing forces from east, sees boost for peace

KIEV (Reuters) – Ukraine’s president said on Wednesday Russia had removed the bulk of its forces from his country, raising hopes for a peace drive now underway after five months of conflict in which more than 3,000 people have been killed. Moscow denies sending troops into eastern Ukraine to support pro-Russian rebels battling Ukrainian forces, despite what Kiev and its Western backers say is overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Moscow also denies arming the separatists. President Petro Poroshenko told a televised cabinet meeting Ukraine would remain a sovereign, united country under the terms of a peace roadmap approved last Friday, but said parts of the east under rebel control would get special status. "According to the latest information I have received from our intelligence, 70 percent of Russian troops have been moved back across the border," Poroshenko said. "This further strengthens our hope that the peace initiatives have good […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple