Ukraine has embarked on “the mother of all reforms”: that of the gas sector. This is one of the most important and most difficult reforms Ukraine has to undertake. Yet without the marketisation of gas prices and an improvement in Naftogaz’s financial standing, it will be impossible to reform Ukraine’s public finances and end the long-standing economic crisis. Energy sector reform is a central goal of the post-Euromaidan government and indeed the … [Read more...]
The Eurasian Big Bang: how China and Russia are carving out their own world order
While politicians in the United States are outdoing each other condemning the Iran nuclear agreement, the rest of the world is moving on, writes Asia Times correspondent Pepe Escobar. Virtually unreported by western media, China, Russia, India, Iran and other nations are establishing financial, economic, political and energy infrastructure partnerships that are changing global relations irrevocably. The EU meanwhile is mostly ignored. … [Read more...]
The new IAEA-Kazakhstani nuclear fuel bank: key enabler for global expansion of nuclear power
With all the publicity around the Iran nuclear deal, not much attention has been given to an equally significant nuclear move: Â the agreement between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with Kazakhstan to establish an independent Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) Fuel Bank. According to energy expert Alan Riley, this initiative could become a key enabler for the worldwide expansion of nuclear power and indeed a key support for a secure future … [Read more...]
A system of unconnected vessels: the gas market(s) in the Baltic States
An internally integrated gas market independent from Russia is an official goal of the Baltic States’ energy policies. Above all the launch of the LNG terminal in Klaipeda, Lithuania, at the end of 2014, was intended to provide an alternative to Russian gas. However, Latvia rejects the opportunity to import gas from Lithuania, and Estonia is pursuing its own projects, including cooperation witn Finland.  This makes the creation of a regional … [Read more...]
Gazprom deals deepen EU gas dilemmas
Gazprom has been very active in Europe recently, signing a strategic cooperation agreement with Shell, an agreement to build a second Nord Stream pipeline with Shell, E.on and OMV, and a memorandum with the Greek government about building an extension of its Turkish Stream project. All of these initiatives fit perfectly with Gazprom’s strategy, write Szymon KardaĹ› and Agata Loskot-Strachota of the Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW) in Warsaw. But … [Read more...]
Greece and Iran: two old friends can change the geopolitics of energy in Europe
Greece, which has long had friendly relations with Iran, is poised to play a key role in distributing Iranian to gas to Europe, if Iranian sanctions are lifted. With Iran in the equation, the energy geopolitics of the region – and thereby the rest of Europe – will look very different from what they are today, write Christos Brakoulias, Constantine Levoyannis and Dr. Angelos Gkanoutas-Leventis of the Greek Energy Forum (GEF) in Brussels. … [Read more...]
GlobalData: Russia’s oil production will continue to grow despite low oil prices
Russian oil production has grown by 1 million barrels per day (bpd) over the last decade to a post-Soviet record of 10.6 million bpd in 2014. In the next five years the factors that were behind this production surge will remain in place, regardless of oil prices, says Anna Belova, GlobalData's Upstream Analyst covering the Former Soviet Union. The Russian oil and gas industry is “relatively self-sufficient”, Belova adds. … [Read more...]
EU investigation Gazprom comes at the wrong time
The timing of the EU's investigation of Gazprom further exacerbates tensions with Russia, notes Friedbert PflĂĽger, Director of the European Centre for Energy and Resource Security (EUCERS), King’s College London. PflĂĽger warns that if the EU and Russia continue to be on a collision course, both sides will lose. … [Read more...]
A vision of a Gas Union in Central and South East Europe
We will never have a unified European energy policy as long as Central and East European gas markets remain fragmented and divided, writes Peter Poptchev. Now, however, under the impetus of the Energy Union, the EU has a unique opportunity to put its Eastern gas house in order. Poptchev sets out the main steps that need to be taken to achieve this goal. … [Read more...]
Russia’s Grand Gas Strategy – the power to dominate Europe?
For Russia, energy resources, especially gas, are viewed as a tool to project power beyond its borders. However, Russia’s room for “gas games” is constrained by its own capacities, the gas strategies of other players, and the EU’s ability to project its regulatory power, write Zuzanna Nowak and JarosĹ‚aw Ćwiek-Karpowicz of the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM) and Jakub Godzimirski of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs … [Read more...]
Winter is (already) coming again – trilateral gas talks recommence
Brussels is hosting the kick-off of a fresh series of trilateral gas talks between Russia, Ukraine and the EU this Friday. The goal is to agree, by June, on a successor to the current “winter package” on Ukrainian gas purchases from Russia, which would settle gas – and cash – flows between the two countries until autumn 2016, when an international court in Stockholm is expected to rule on their dispute. … [Read more...]
viEUws VIDEO: “Conflict between Russia and EU could mark end of European gas industry”
Tatiana Mitrova, Head of the Oil & Gas Department at the Energy Research Institute in Moscow, joins Hughes Belin on viEUws.eu to analyse the consequences of the troubled EU-Russia relations for energy trade. According to Mitrova, the current situation is a "perfect storm" which she warns "could mark the beginning of the end of the European gas industry." … [Read more...]
Interview Andriy Kobolev, CEO Naftogaz: “Gazprom breaches EU law by blocking reverse flow to Ukraine”
Gazprom is blocking reverse gas flow from Slovakia to Ukraine in violation of EU law, says Andriy Kobolev, the CEO of Ukraine’s state-owned gas monopoly Naftogaz, in an exclusive interview with Slovakian energy analyst Jozef Badida. As a result European companies are not able to meet the demand from gas in Ukraine and Ukraine is left at the mercy of Gazprom. Kobolev calls on the EU to take action against the Russian company. But he also notes … [Read more...]
Arctic oil put on ice
Low oil prices have prompted Chevron and Statoil to suspend their drilling plans in the Arctic. Sanctions against Russia have forced Rosneft to delay its Arctic campaign. Only Shell still seems to be bent on drilling in the North Pole region, reports Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com. … [Read more...]
Russia’s oil and gas tax policies look increasingly eastward
Recent changes in the taxation of Russia’s oil and gas sector reflect both the country’s pivot eastward and the special treatment afforded to its state-controlled energy companies, says an analyst with research and consulting firm GlobalData. … [Read more...]
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