Latest Articles about Energy

Russia Seeks Lesser Dependence on Oil Prices
Russia pledged to limit its over-reliance on crude oil prices. However, the economic model of Russia’s oil and gas sector still seems destined to remain largely export-oriented, including the government’s continued dependence on petrodollars. Russia’s financial over-reliance on oil and gas remains an Achilles’ heel... MORE

Putin, Gazprom Seek to Refloat Shtokman Gas Project
Gazprom’s Shtokman offshore gas project in the Barents Sea faces its third reconfiguration in a decade. The project – a joint venture of Gazprom with French Total and Norwegian Statoil – has yet to start in practice at the supergiant deposit in the Russian Arctic.... MORE

Russian Companies Map out International Expansion at St. Petersburg Economic Forum
Russian state-controlled companies, Gazprom and Rosneft, mapped out far-reaching expansion programs in bilateral deals with Western companies at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 21-22. Russian President Vladimir Putin coordinated the overall process (Interfax, June 21 – 23; Kommersant, June 22). In parallel... MORE

Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan Disagree on CASA-1000
Last month, energy ministers of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan signed a protocol on the construction of power lines within the CASA-1000 (Central Asia-South Asia) project (www.tazabek.kg, May 23). If completed, CASA would allow Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to supply electricity to Pakistan through Afghanistan, becoming... MORE

Ex-Northern Alliance Leaders Challenge Kabul over Chinese Project
Anti-Taliban leaders of the former Northern Alliance coexist uneasily with the Kabul government and NATO in Afghanistan’s north. There, China proposes to explore and develop oil and gas fields and to build a transit pipeline for Turkmenistani gas via Afghanistan to China. The coexistence in... MORE

Gazprom Denies Price Discount until Sofia Accedes to South Stream
Bulgaria is under renewed pressure from Russia to sign the final investment agreement on the South Stream gas pipeline by November 15, 2012. Otherwise, Gazprom threatens to forsake the promised 11 percent discount for natural gas supplies, which was supposed to be given for the... MORE

Ukraine Reveals Ambitious Plans to Cut Dependence on Russian Gas
Ukraine’s Energy Ministry has come up with amendments to the National Energy Strategy, according to which gas imports will decline from 40 billion cubic meters (bcm) last year to as little as 5 bcm in 2030. Domestic gas consumption is expected to decline less steeply... MORE

New Chinese Pipeline Proposal: Implications in Central Asia, Afghanistan and Beyond
Beijing has initiated discussions with Kabul over a new transit pipeline for Turkmenistani gas, passing through Afghanistan’s north and Tajikistan to China (see EDM June 19). The proposal’s potential ramifications are far-reaching under any of the possible scenarios.• Implications for Afghanistan post-2014:A transit pipeline to... MORE

Beijing Proposes Turkmenistan-China Gas Pipeline Through Northern Afghanistan
The Chinese government and Afghan President Hamid Karzai envisage a pipeline to deliver Turkmenistani gas, via Afghanistan’s north and through Tajikistan, to China. This could become a rival or a substitute to the US-backed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline, a decade-old gas transit project. Whether Karzai (let... MORE

Ambitious Iranian-Tajik Projects Face Problems of Geography and Sanctions
Last week, Tajikistan and Iran concluded the ninth meeting of the Joint Economic Commission in Tehran. The two countries signed five agreements in the hydro-electric, oil and health sectors (Ozodi, May 29). The issues of water and hydro-electricity featured prominently in the discussions, including agreements... MORE