Latest Articles about Energy
Ukrainian President-Elect Yanukovych Resurrects Gas Consortium Scheme
Throughout the electoral campaign, Ukrainian President-elect Viktor Yanukovych promised to seek a special deal with Russia on natural gas: Russia to supply Ukraine with gas at discounted prices and, in return, be allowed to take over an ownership share in Ukraine’s gas transit system, which... MORE

Shtokman Project’s Postponement Marks Turning Point in Russia-West Energy Trade
(Part Two)Shtokman is the most ambitious energy project in Russia since the end of the Soviet era. A joint venture of Gazprom with Total of France and Norway’s Statoil, the Shtokman project is entirely export-oriented toward Europe and the United States. The February 5 decision... MORE

Shtokman Gas Project Postponed: Implications for Russia, Europe and the US
On February 5, the Gazprom-led Shtokman Development Company and operator of the supergiant gas project in the Russian Arctic, announced that investment decisions and field development are being postponed. The investment decision for field work is being rescheduled, from the end of 2010 to late... MORE

Can Nabucco be Married Off to Gazprom?
Unexpectedly, the US State Department’s Special Envoy for Eurasian energy affairs, Richard Morningstar, seems to embrace the idea of allowing Gazprom to become a user of the Nabucco pipeline. Speaking in Washington at the Center for American Progress (a think-tank associated with left-leaning constituencies in... MORE

Nabucco Gas Project Retains Political and Business Momentum
On February 3, the Bulgarian parliament ratified the inter-governmental agreement on the Nabucco gas transport project, as signed in July 2009 by the five stakeholder countries (the German company RWE being the sixth stakeholder) (BTA, February 3). The Bulgarian ratification vote was unanimous, implicitly confirming... MORE

The Strategic Implications of the Turkmenistan-China Pipeline Project
On December 14, 2009, China and Turkmenistan formally opened the longest natural gas pipeline, which runs from Turkmenistan through Central Asia to China. This pipeline, financed by China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)—China's largest oil and gas producer and supplier—is the first gas pipeline connecting China... MORE

Au Pays des Lumieres: Gazprom’s Partner Eutelsat Disconnects Georgian TV Channel
On February 1, the Paris-based Eutelsat, Europe’s number one satellite television operator, disconnected Georgian Public Broadcaster’s First Caucasus TV Channel from its satellite, after a one-week successful transmission test. Eutelsat also declared that it was backing out of its own contract offer to the Georgian... MORE

Nabucco Project Stakeholders Look Forward to Leadership in Brussels
Stakeholders and other interested parties in the Nabucco project are expressing concern over the project’s apparent stagnation, and calling for urgent consultations to revitalize the project. Nabucco is simply marking time in the absence of a coordinating mechanism between producer, transit, and consumer countries, and... MORE

Hungary Signs South Stream Project Agreement
On January 31 in Budapest, Russian and Hungarian officials signed the project agreement for the construction of Gazprom’s South Stream pipeline on Hungarian territory. Hungary’s privately-owned MOL Company, a member of the Nabucco consortium, is not a party to the South Stream agreement. Hungary participates... MORE
Gazprom Half-Acknowledges Pessimistic Outlook
Gazprom’s board of directors held its traditional start-of-year meeting on January 26 to set policies for 2010 (Interfax, January 26, 27). The decisions focus on marketing policy, rather than investment into field development. This focus increases the probability of a gas shortfall in Russia in... MORE