The construction of China’s New Eurasian Land Bridge through Central Asia has been gathering speed in recent months and looks to make even greater progress in 2013. At the end of 2012, China and Kazakhstan opened their second major rail link at the Xinjiang-Kazakhstan border... MORE

Mongolia has remained on the radar in 2012 for international audiences, especially foreign investors who see the country either as either a land of opportunity or uncertainty. Events ranging from the parliamentary elections, to judicial procedures concerning the former president, and to restrictions on exchanging... MORE

United States Senator Richard Lugar has urged the Obama administration to break Russia’s energy monopoly in Europe and called on Congress to lift limitations on LNG deliveries to NATO allies in Europe. His critical report, “Energy and Security from the Caspian to Europe,” and the... MORE

On November 26, Kazakh media reported that the US oil company ConocoPhillips was planning to sell its 8.4-percent stake in Kazakhstan’s Kashagan oil field on the Caspian Sea. In the context of continuously falling revenues (in the third quarter of 2012, ConocoPhillips lost about 14... MORE

Russia’s gas monopoly, Gazprom, has apparently ruled out the possibility of building a subsea Sakhalin-Japan natural gas pipeline. However, the continuation of talks on this ambitious project is thought to remain a valuable bargaining instrument in Russia’s difficult negotiations with China on gas prices.On November... MORE

Ukraine has started construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal designed to process 10 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas per annum out of some 55 bcm the country consumes. After the start of gas imports from Europe last month (see EDM, November 20),... MORE

An expected price increase of gasoline by Mongolian distributors presents new challenges for the coalition government and worries for the public and businesses. As informed by Mongolian fuel importers, Rosneft, the largest Russian oil company, has begun to charge extra for the popular gasoline brand... MORE

The Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom outlined ambitious and costly plans to develop new production and exports hubs in the country’s Far East. Meanwhile, the gas giant has also apparently begun reassessing its ties with Central Asia.On October 29, President Vladimir Putin told Gazprom CEO... MORE

As Russia refuses to cut gas prices for Ukraine and proceeds with its South Stream pipeline project—aimed at diminishing Gazprom’s dependence on Ukrainian gas pipelines (see EDM, November 16)—Ukraine has announced plans to further cut Russian gas imports. Even more notably, Ukraine began buying gas... MORE

On November 15, Bulgaria signed the final investment decision on the South Stream natural gas project, becoming the last country among Gazprom partners to give the project a green light. Serbia, Hungary and Slovenia have already approved their final investment agreements with Gazprom. On November... MORE