The row between Russia and Balarus looks set to increase again after Belarus announced that it will increase tariffs for the transit of Russian oil through its domestic pipeline network by more than 30% starting on February 15.

The oil giant Shell faces a new accounting crisis as the ramifications become clear of its December renegotiation with the Russian authorities over its stake in the Sakhalin 2 joint venture. The company may be forced to cut oil and gas reserves on its books by up to a billion barrels after the halving of […]

Lukoil, Russia’s largest oil company, is slowly buying up influence in Europe according to an article in the Financial Times.
Whilst, its rival, Gazprom has often stirred controversy through headline-making projects, Lukoil is quietly concentrating on countries in south-east Europe where Russia is seen with less suspicion than the rest of the continent.

BP is coming under fresh pressure to relinquish control of one of its most valuable assets in Russia after Kremlin officials confirmed they would conduct an aggressive audit of its giant Kovykta natural gas field, run by TNK-BP.
Inspectors allege that the field is under-exploited and that TNK-BP will fail to raise production to an agreed […]

The crisis over Russian oil supplies has escalated into a full-scale confrontation with Europe as Germany’s Chancellor, Angela Merkel, condemned Moscow’s decision to turn off the tap as “unacceptable”.
She said Russia’s tactics were destroying its credibility as a reliable energy partner. The comments came after Russia halted supplies to several countries, including Poland, after […]