Latest Articles about Energy
Germany Vulnerable to Russian Energy Supply Manipulations
Russia’s halt of gas deliveries via Ukraine to Europe in mid-winter underscores Germany’s dilemmas on energy security and policy. Those dilemmas are largely unnecessary and even self-inflicted. The country has allowed itself to drift—and to some extent be maneuvered—into a situation of overdependence on Russian... MORE
“We Will Not Let Our People Go Cold,” Says Turkish Energy Minister
The dispute between Russia and Ukraine over natural gas prices continues to threaten the energy supply to Europe in the midst of plunging temperatures (EDM, January 5). The disruptions caused by the row between the Russian gas company Gazprom and Ukraine’s Naftohaz has already led... MORE
Gazprom’s Gas Price Shell Game
How does Russia’s Gazprom set the price for the gas it sells its customers in the former Soviet republics and the EU? Few, if any, managers in Gazprom can answer this question with any measure of certainty. The formula for calculating this seemingly capricious price,... MORE
Increased Western Involvement in Caspian Sea Energy Transport
On December 23 Austria’s OMV energy conglomerate and Germany’s leading power producer RWE (Rheinisch-Westfaelische Elektrizitaetswerke) announced an initiative to create a joint company for gas transportation from the Caspian Sea’s eastern shore westward. This initiative targets mainly Turkmen gas, aiming to build a trans-Caspian pipeline... MORE
Serbia’s Oil Industry: a Christmas Gift to Gazprom
On December 24, 2008, the Serbian government ceded control over Serbia’s Oil Industry (Naftna Industrija Srbije, NIS) to Russian Gazprom’s oil subsidiary, Gazprom Neft. Motivated to a large extent politically and negotiated poorly by Belgrade, the cession amounts to a Christmas gift for Gazprom and... MORE
Gazprom Stops Gas Deliveries to Ukraine—What Next?
On the morning of January 1, OAO Gazprom, the Russian state-owned gas monopoly, in league with the Russian government, decreased the volume of gas shipped to Ukraine by 90 million cubic meters a day—the amount that Ukraine had contracted for in 2008. Gas shipments of... MORE
Need for More Transparency in Kyrgyz and Tajik Energy Sectors to Avoid Future Crises
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, both upstream countries with abundant water resources, face the same problem: their water resources are benefiting the ruling regimes while the public is deprived of basic services. In Kyrgyzstan President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s regime has allegedly been secretly selling electricity to neighboring Kazakhstan... MORE
The Kremlin Defends Its Energy Interests
Russia moved to support the 2 million barrel a day cut in oil production by OPEC by reducing its own oil exports. The country's oil companies and energy projects appear, however, to be facing an uncertain future amid continued volatility in global energy prices.Russia dispatched... MORE
The Price of Gas and Russian Democracy
Russia’s state-owned gas giant Gazprom is preparing for a major financial hit in 2009. The world-wide economic slowdown has diminished gas consumption for Gazprom’s European industrial customers. The price of gas, which is indexed to the price of oil, has been dropping from the current... MORE
Purge of Serb Negotiating Team To Precipitate Onerous Energy Agreements with Russia
Serbia’s coalition government has removed Economics Minister Mladan Dinkic from his concurrent assignment as head of the negotiating team on energy agreements with Russia. The impending oil and gas deals involve essentially a Russian takeover of Serbia’s energy sector. Dinkic and his colleagues who were... MORE