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Latest articles from Vladimir Socor
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SOCAR and Other Shah Deniz Producers Reconfiguring Pipeline Consortiums
The gas producers’ consortium at Shah Deniz in Azerbaijan has selected the Greece-Italy route, known as the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) project, for transportation of that field’s production to European markets. The selection of TAP has eliminated the Nabucco-West project, ending a four-year contest between the... MORE
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Ukraine’s Gas Storage System: A Unique Asset in Europe
Addressing Gazprom’s annual general meeting of shareholders, CEO Alexei Miller warned that Gazprom would “never again, under any circumstances” use Ukraine’s gas storage system in the process of delivering Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine (Kommersant-Ukraina, July 4; Nezavisimaya Gazeta, July 10; see EDM, July... MORE
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Ukraine Diversifies Gas Suppliers, Slashes Imports from Gazprom
Ukraine has recently initiated procurement of natural gas from European suppliers. These volumes are small but growing, correspondingly eroding Gazprom’s market share in Ukraine.The German Rheinisch-Westfaelisches Elektrizitaetswerk (RWE) is providing the volumes through its subsidiary, RWE Supply & Trading. Some of these gas volumes are... MORE
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Future of Ukraine’s Gas Transit System Linked with Ukraine-EU Association Agreement
Ukraine stands on the threshold of finalizing the Association Agreement with the European Union, possibly signing it at the Vilnius summit in November. If signed, the agreement would open the way for European comprehensive support to the modernization of Ukraine’s gas transit system, which carries... MORE
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Kazakhstan Enters into Strategic Partnership with Britain
On July 1, in Astana, President Nursultan Nazarbayev and the visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron signed a joint declaration on strategic partnership between Britain and Kazakhstan. A large business delegation accompanied Cameron. He became the first serving British prime minister to visit Kazakhstan, although... MORE
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China Enters Kashagan Oil Project, Will Boost Kazakhstan-China Pipeline Capacity
On July 2, Kazakhstan’s government announced that it has decided to sell an 8.4-percent stake in Kashagan, the supergiant oilfield development project, to China’s National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). The CNPC has prevailed against India’s Videsh, external operations branch of Indian state-controlled Oil & Natural Gas... MORE
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Old and New Options Considered in the Post-Nabucco Era
Planning the Southern Gas Corridor to Europe, the European Commission in Brussels had defined the Nabucco pipeline project as the corridor’s mainstay. With Nabucco-West’s official demise (see accompanying article and EDM, June 27), the gas producer, transiting and consumer countries situated between Turkmenistan and Central... MORE
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The Curtain Falls on Nabucco’s Last Act
Nabucco-West, the pipeline project that was to have carried Azerbaijani gas from Turkey to the Central European Gas Hub near Vienna, is exiting from the stage. There will be no encore: “The Nabucco project is over for us. Our goal now is European gas for... MORE
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Shah Deniz Gas Producers Select Trans-Adriatic Pipeline Route into Europe over Nabucco
The gas producers’ consortium at Shah Deniz in Azerbaijan has selected the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline project (TAP, Greece-Albania-Italy, led by Norwegian Statoil) to deliver Azerbaijani gas to Europe. This decision eliminates the Nabucco-West pipeline project (Bulgaria-Romania-Hungary-Austria) from consideration. The decision was communicated to the two rival... MORE
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Azerbaijan Wins Tender for Gas Pipelines in Greece
On June 21, Greece’s State Assets Development Fund announced that Azerbaijan’s State Oil Company (SOCAR) has won the tender to acquire control of Greek DESFA’s (Public Gas Transmission System Operator) pipelines. The Asset Fund’s board of directors expressed its unanimous satisfaction with the terms of... MORE