Latest Articles about Energy
Ukrainian Government Examines Belarusian Model of Gas Trade With Russia
Ukraine’s newly elected President, Viktor Yanukovych, and the new government clamored for low-priced Russian gas from their first day in office. As an opening gambit they called for a price similar to that paid by Belarus; or in the worst case somewhat higher at $200... MORE
Ukrainian Government Reconsiders Gas Policy
Based upon the record of the last eight years, Ukrainian governments and industrialists linked to them have sought deep discounts on the price of Russian gas in two ways, both ultimately self-defeating.One way would allow Russia’s Gazprom to control Ukraine’s gas transit system through some... MORE
Turkey Signs Nuclear Deal with South Korea
During the Turkish-Korean joint business forum, held in Turkey on March 10, a protocol was signed to cooperate on Turkey’s second planned nuclear power plant. During the signing ceremony, Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, welcomed this development as a positive step toward bolstering Turkish trade... MORE
New Team in Kyiv Sets Stage for Gas Consortium With Russia
Ukraine’s new government, built around the Party of Regions, has re-empowered some key Ukrainian protagonists of gas “schemes” with Russia from past years (Naftohaz Ukrainy Management Change Indicates Turn to Russia, EDM, March 24).Yulia Tymoshenko‘s government succeeded in ridding Ukraine of those schemes at the... MORE
Naftohaz Ukrainy Management Change Indicates Turn to Russia
On March 22, the new Ukrainian government completed the formation of the senior management team at Naftohaz Ukrainy, the state oil and gas company (Interfax-Ukraine, UNIAN, March 22; Kommersant, March 23). This team is directly answerable to Fuel and Energy Minister Yuriy Boyko and, equally... MORE
Nord Stream Downloads Financial Risks on German and Italian Governments
Rainer Seele, the Chairman of the German energy company Wintershall, complained in a Russian press interview that commercial banks often “discriminate against” companies involved in Russian projects. According to Seele, the banks generally impose excessive lending costs on such companies (Vremya Novostei, March 19).This should... MORE
“Gross Expropriation” or a Softer Approach at Kovykta?
The Russian government seems to envisage two options for disposing of TNK-BP’s giant Kovykta gas project in Siberia: coercive re-nationalization with compensation for the capital already invested, or without compensation. The state regulatory apparatus claims that the license holder is violating the Kovykta license terms.... MORE
Strategic Implications of China’s Access to the Rajin Port
At the recently concluded National People's Congress (NPC), Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Deputy Secretary-General of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Jilin Province, Li Longxi, announced that North Korean authorities are currently studying a proposal to grant a 10 year extension to China's lease of... MORE
South Stream: a Casualty of Moscow’s Excess Pipeline Capacity Building
Like all parties involved with South Stream, ENI must rely on the new Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych agreeing to share control of Ukraine’s gas transit system with Moscow. In that case, Gazprom would no longer need South Stream as a Ukraine-bypass option, which Moscow had... MORE
Gazprom’s Partner ENI Loses Confidence in South Stream
Italy’s ENI chief executive, Paolo Scaroni, has proposed unifying the Gazprom-led South Stream with the European Union-backed Nabucco pipeline project. The Italian state-controlled energy conglomerate ENI is the key technological and commercial partner to Gazprom in South Stream, the project aimed at transporting gas from... MORE