Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko declared on November 16 that the Nord Stream pipeline on the Baltic seabed would not be used for diverting gas volumes away from Ukraine’s transit pipelines to Europe. In effect, this statement acknowledges that the Nord Stream pipeline, from Russia... MORE

Ukraine finds it increasingly difficult to survive without money from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The country paid Russia for October’s gas deliveries with IMF funds and the same means will be used for November’s gas deliveries. However, the IMF did not disburse the fourth... MORE

Gas production in Azerbaijan is set to reach 30 billion cubic meters (bcm) annually by 2013 from currently operating fields (Trend Capital, November 13). Over and above that level, the second phase of production at the Shah Deniz field is projected to add another 16... MORE

“We are interested in exporting our resources through different routes,” Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev stated during his visit to Bulgaria on November 13 (AZTV). On the same day, he paid a short working visit to Sofia to meet his counterpart Georgi Parvanov and to sign... MORE

On December 2, the Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service reportedly will consider the conflict between two Russian state-owned companies –Gazprom and Rosneft. The decision came after Rosneft filed a complaint alleging that Gazprom limited Rosneft’s access to the Russian main gas pipeline network from April through... MORE

On November 13 in Sofia, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and his Bulgarian counterpart Giorgi Purvanov witnessed the signing of agreements of intent on the transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Bulgaria and onward to Europe. The agreements’ centerpiece concerns transportation of compressed natural gas (CNG) from... MORE

On November 11 the Austrian OMV-led Nabucco management announced that the investment decision on the project will be postponed, from early 2010 to the fourth quarter of that year. There is no clear explanation for this sudden change.Only seven days earlier, the same Vienna office... MORE

Three Scandinavian governments have allowed Gazprom’s Nord Stream pipeline, from Russia to Germany, to be built on the Baltic seabed (EDM, November 10). The Finnish, Swedish, and Danish governments had procrastinated or resisted for three years and their public opinion does not welcome the Nord... MORE

Four years after Germans and Russians signed the founding agreement (October 2005), the Nord Stream pipeline project has received the Scandinavian countries’ approval for construction on the Baltic seabed, from Russia to Germany. The Gazprom-led project, however, has not yet lined up the gas and... MORE

Russia’s relatively low domestic gas prices have been seen as encouraging high consumption rates and hindering investments in gas production. The country’s gas monopoly Gazprom has long complained about unprofitable sales and pressed the government to hike regulated domestic prices. Gazprom has insisted that its... MORE