Latest Articles about Energy
The Oil War: Facing EU Embargo, Russia Targeted Ukraine’s Supplies
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy strongly advocates for an embargo on Russian oil imports to the European Union: “Now the priority is the oil embargo. No matter how hard Moscow tries to disrupt this decision…” (President.gov.ua, May 15). His economic advisor Oleg Ustenko has further admonished... MORE
Powering the PLA Abroad: How the Chinese Military Might Fuel Its Overseas Presence
Introduction The establishment of China’s first official overseas military base in Djibouti in 2017 set the precedent for People’s Liberation Army (PLA) units to be permanently stationed abroad. Many foreign analysts assume that China will continue expanding its overseas military presence, most likely through a... MORE
Construction of Highway and Railway Links Between Zangilan and Nakhchivan: The Views From Baku and Tehran
The Russo-Ukrainian war, the extensive sanctions against Russia that the West adopted in response, and the growing possibility that European border states will block east-west transit routes traversing Russian territory into Europe, including the so-called Northern Corridor of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), are... MORE
About Turn: Arms, Oil, Gas and Politics in Bulgaria
Russian President Vladimir Putin miscalculated again when he stopped natural gas shipments to Poland and Bulgaria on April 27. Now Russia appears to have lost the gas markets in both countries as they are preparing to permanently wean themselves from Russian energy supplies. The official... MORE
The South Caucasus and Central Asia: Diversifying the EU Gas Market
In early April, high-level Italian and French delegations traveled separately to Azerbaijan to discuss cooperation in the energy sector, including natural gas exports and “green” electricity generated from Caspian-basin wind (Minenergy.gov.az, April 2, 8). The twin visits occurred against the background of mounting anxieties about... MORE
Russia Halts Gas Supplies to Poland and Bulgaria: Short-Term Calm, Long-Term Anxieties
On April 27, Russia’s Gazprom completely suspended natural gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria under long-term contracts that were supposed to be valid through the end of 2022. The move was explained by Gazprom as a necessity, as the Russian gas importers in both countries... MORE
Why China Funds Renewable Energy at Home, but Invests in Fossil Fuel Projects Overseas
Introduction Across the world, energy investments are gradually shifting towards renewables as part of commitments to curb global warming. In this trend, China is seen as both a climate hero and a climate criminal – the country is simultaneously by far the largest investor in... MORE
Baltic States Bet on New LNG Regasification Capacities
On April 19, the Latvian Economy Minister Jānis Vitenbergs announced his government’s decision to support entirely abandoning natural gas supplies from Russia by the end of 2022 (Em.gov.lv, April 19). The strategy in that regard relies on expanding liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification capacity across... MORE
Middle Corridor: Potential Alternative to Russian Railways?
The Russo-Ukrainian war has cast doubt on the sustainability of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative’s (BRI) “Northern Corridor” because of mounting Western sanctions on this overland route’s key links—Russia and Belarus (see EDM, April 8, 18). The growing vulnerability of the Northern Corridor, which... MORE
The Economic Aspect of Russia’s War in Ukraine: Sanctions, Implications, Complications (Part One)
Russia’s full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine, which commenced on February 24 (Kremlin.ru, February 24), pushed the world’s largest advanced economies to introduce several rounds of increasing economic sanctions against the Russian Federation (Meduza, March 8). While the initial impact of those punitive measures seemed... MORE