Category: Ukraine

The latest U.S. penalties against ’s inner circle may provoke the Russian president into escalating the Ukraine crisis without crippling key sectors of his nation’s economy. The sanctions imposed by the Obama administration yesterday on seven officials and 17 companies won’t go unanswered, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Interfax. While markets showed relief as Russia ’s largest banks avoided U.S. measures, Putin may take this round personally, according to Konstantin Simonov, president of Russia’s National Energy Security Foundation. “Putin has been declared evil” and singled out personally by the U.S., Simonov said. “He won’t be able to respond economically, so he’ll retaliate politically. There will be escalation in the east of Ukraine and a new spiral of sanctions.” Warned by U.S. Secretary of State about making an “expensive mistake” in Ukraine, Putin has seen his approval rating at home soar to a six-year high after the seizure of […]

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Exxon Mobil (XOM) Corp.’s dream of drilling in the Russian Arctic may risk running aground on the politics of Ukraine. The company plans to start drilling in August in the Arctic’s remote Kara Sea — the centerpiece of Exxon’s global alliance with Russian state-controlled OAO Rosneft. (ROSN) The partnership, which includes shale exploration in Siberia and joint venture fields in Texas , will come under greater scrutiny after the U.S. placed sanctions on Rosneft’s Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin . “With Sechin being sanctioned it may complicate relations for Rosneft with western companies,” said Mattias Westman, who oversees about $3.3 billion in Russia assets as CEO of Prosperity Capital . “Maybe some transactions will be threatened as a result and perhaps Russia will counter and they will be less keen for American companies to work on Arctic projects.” Patrick McGinn, a spokesman for Exxon’s exploration arm, said on April […]

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The U.S. Monday added Igor Sechin, a Putin ally and head of state-controlled oil giant , to its sanctions list, complicating the delicate dance U.S. and European energy giants have had to engage in amid the standoff between the West and Moscow. The most exposed company is U.K. oil company PLC, which has a 19.75% stake in Rosneft. Last year, it sold its stake in its previous Russian joint venture for $11.8 billion in cash plus shares in the state-controlled oil giant. Mr. Sechin owns 0.13% of Rosneft, making him the company’s third-largest shareholder after the Russian state and BP. BP also gained a seat on Rosneft’s nine-member board, currently held by BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley. Under the terms of the U.S. sanctions, BP wouldn’t be barred from dealing with Rosneft, though Mr Dudley, an American citizen, would be unable to have direct business dealings with Mr. Sechin. […]

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The U.S. Monday added Igor Sechin, a Putin ally and head of state-controlled oil giant , to its sanctions list, complicating the delicate dance U.S. and European energy giants have had to engage in amid the standoff between the West and Moscow. The most exposed company is U.K. oil company PLC, which has a 19.75% stake in Rosneft. Last year, it sold its stake in its previous Russian joint venture for $11.8 billion in cash plus shares in the state-controlled oil giant. Mr. Sechin owns 0.13% of Rosneft, making him the company’s third-largest shareholder after the Russian state and BP. BP also gained a seat on Rosneft’s nine-member board, currently held by BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley. Under the terms of the U.S. sanctions, BP wouldn’t be barred from dealing with Rosneft, though Mr Dudley, an American citizen, would be unable to have direct business dealings with Mr. Sechin. […]

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President Obama, declaring that Russia was continuing to bully and threaten Ukraine, said here on Monday that the United States would impose additional sanctions on Russian individuals and entities, as well as freezing some exports of military technology. The announcement, during a visit by Mr. Obama to the Philippines, was widely expected. Last week, the president said that the sanctions were “teed up” and were being delayed only by technical issues and the need to coordinate with the European Union. The fact that the announcement was made on the last stop of Mr. Obama’s weeklong Asian trip underscored the sense of urgency about fears that Russia was destabilizing eastern Ukraine. The European Union is expected to announce similar measures within a day or so, as Mr. Obama and European leaders strive to keep a united front in their campaign of pressure on Moscow. “These sanctions represent the […]

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The European Union and Ukraine have agreed on terms to boost the flow of natural gas from the 28-nation bloc to the former Soviet state, Slovak pipeline operator Eustream said late Saturday. "Representatives of Eustream and [Ukrainian pipeline operator] Ukrtransgaz will sign the document on Monday," Eustream said in a statement. The two sides agreed that the fastest and least legally cumbersome way to provide Ukraine with a third EU-based gas delivery route—it already has gas-flow agreements with Hungary and Poland—is to use the pipeline between Vojany and Uzhgorod, an underutilized secondary pipe on Slovakia’s eastern border. The deal would mark Ukraine’s third significant energy agreement with the West since a pro-European caretaker government . To reduce dependence on Russia, its major trade partner, Ukraine earlier this month with Pennsylvania-based Westinghouse Electric Co. until 2020 and AG . Write to Sean Carney at

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With the showdown over Ukraine escalating and President Obama warning Moscow of a tough new round of sanctions, Russia and its allies in the European private sector are conducting a separate campaign to ensure that they can maintain their deep and longstanding economic ties even if the Kremlin orders further military action. European banks and businesses are far more exposed to the Russian economy than are their American counterparts. Trade between the European Union and Russia amounted to almost $370 billion in 2012, while United States trade with Russia was about $26 billion that year. As a result, they have lobbied energetically to head off or at least dilute any sanctions, making it hard for American and European political leaders to come up with a package of measures with enough bite to influence Moscow’s behavior in Ukraine. Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea , energy companies, exporters, big […]

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Russian natural-gas giant OAO Gazprom won’t stop pumping gas to its European customers even if Ukraine doesn’t pay its arrears—-expected to reach $3.5 billion next month—but it can’t guarantee those supplies will reach its intended customers, the company’s Deputy Chief Executive Alexander Medvedev said Friday. Russian state-controlled Gazprom supplies about 30% of Europe’s gas needs, around half of which travels through pipes that cross Ukraine. Any disruption to those flows could have a significant impact on European customers, including utilities in Italy and Germany, and push up prices across the region. But Russia also depends on the revenues from its energy exports which account for around 50% of federal income. Russia has cut off supplies to Ukraine twice in recent years, in 2006 and 2009, in both cases citing pricing disputes. The 2009 shut-off sent prices rising across Europe and triggered some gas shortages in Eastern Europe. Mr. Medvedev, […]

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Russian natural-gas giant OAO Gazprom won’t stop pumping gas to its European customers even if Ukraine doesn’t pay its arrears—-expected to reach $3.5 billion next month—but it can’t guarantee those supplies will reach its intended customers, the company’s Deputy Chief Executive Alexander Medvedev said Friday. Russian state-controlled Gazprom supplies about 30% of Europe’s gas needs, around half of which travels through pipes that cross Ukraine. Any disruption to those flows could have a significant impact on European customers, including utilities in Italy and Germany, and push up prices across the region. But Russia also depends on the revenues from its energy exports which account for around 50% of federal income. Russia has cut off supplies to Ukraine twice in recent years, in 2006 and 2009, in both cases citing pricing disputes. The 2009 shut-off sent prices rising across Europe and triggered some gas shortages in Eastern Europe. Mr. Medvedev, […]

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U.S. and European leaders Friday struggled to overcome divisions over how to expand sanctions against Russia, a delay that Ukraine complained has emboldened Moscow to continue fanning separatist sentiment in the country’s east. President Barack Obama spoke Friday with leaders of the U.K., France, Germany and Italy to stress the need for concerted measures, and they agreed on the need for action. At the end of the day, the Group of Seven, which also includes Japan and Canada, issued a statement saying they would move swiftly to impose additional targeted sanctions. They didn’t say when or specify the targets. But U.S. and European officials said earlier they have identified areas of greater common ground and suggested the new sanctions are set to come on Monday. "Given the urgency of securing the opportunity for a successful and peaceful democratic vote next month in Ukraine’s presidential elections, we have committed to […]

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