After a period of relative calm during the second half of 2011, tensions in the South China Sea began to ramp up again in the first quarter of 2012. In particular a tense standoff in April between a Philippine Navy ship and three Chinese patrol... MORE

Fourteen companies, including Gazprom and three other Russian firms, are bidding to acquire DEPA and its fully-owned subsidiary DESFA, the Greek state-controlled gas transportation systems. Additionally, Gazprom is targeting Greece’s dominant oil company, Hellenic Petroleum, part-owner of DEPA, for possible acquisition. Apart from commercial considerations,... MORE

Potential large shale gas deposits in Europe have raised hopes that the old continent may in the future rely less on oil and natural gas imports from Russia. However, fears of potential environmental effects of hydraulic fracturing and the lack of a clear policy by... MORE

After Bulgaria (see EDM, January 24), Romania might unnecessarily miss its own chance to explore a promising shale gas potential in partnership with the Chevron Corporation. Unlike the Bulgarian situation, Romanian protests against shale gas exploration are peripheral, outside the political system, and not backed... MORE

Interest is growing among Western gas producers in Azerbaijan, transit companies, and European importers in the Trans-Anatolia project for Caspian gas to Europe. Initiated by Baku as an Azerbaijani-Turkish project, the Trans-Anatolia Gas Pipeline (Turkic acronym: TANAP) is planned to run from the Georgian-Turkish border... MORE

Interested parties are considering joining, in one way or another, the Azerbaijani-Turkish Trans-Anatolia Gas Pipeline project (Turkic acronym: TANAP) across Turkey to the European Union’s border. Some of the same interested parties are competing against each other to provide a continuation route for TANAP into... MORE

On March 30 on his maiden visit to Moscow, Bulgarian Economy and Energy Minister Delyan Dobrev struck a poor deal with Russia. Under imperative instructions from his prime minister, Boyko Borissov, Dobrev tentatively promised a final investment decision by November 15, 2012 regarding the Bulgarian... MORE

On March 30, Lithuania and Japan’s Hitachi Corporation initialed the concession agreement to build a Baltic regional nuclear power plant at Visaginas in Lithuania. The Lithuanian government had selected Hitachi and its subsidiary, Hitachi-General Electric of the US, as the strategic investor for this project,... MORE

Bulgaria scrapped plans to build its second 2,000-megawatt Belene nuclear power plant (Belene NPP) on the Danube River (Trud, Capital, Dnevnik, BNT, March 28). The Belene NPP is the second Bulgarian-Russian energy project that Sofia quit in the last four months. In December 2011, Sofia... MORE

Several Eurasian leaders were among the 54 heads of state, deputy prime ministers, or foreign ministers who attended the March 26-27 Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, South Korea. The main objective of the summit was to prevent non-state actors such as terrorists or criminals from... MORE