Oil may be at its lowest level for years, but Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has warned consumers that the “era of cheap gas” is coming to an end. At a meeting to create a new forum of gas exporting countries, Putin said: “The expenses necessary for developing fields are rising sharply, and this means … Read More
Russia
Dick to the Rescue?
Do not fear worry, everyone, Dick is coming to the rescue. For those of you who were worried that supplies of gas and oil would be disrupted after the recent conflict between Russia and Georgia, there is no need to worry as Old Dick Cheney is going to sort it out. In what could be … Read More
Russia “may cut off oil flow” to West
There is something absurdly silly about threatening a country with sanctions if it has something that you are completely dependent on. But that has now happened with Russia and the West over the crisis in Georgia. With the EU threatening Russia with sanctions, the Daily Telegraph reports that “fears are mounting that Russia may restrict … Read More
BP Using “Bullying Tactics” in Russia
This fight is getting nasty, and when it is all over, the future of one of Britain’s biggest companies could have been decided. The dispute between BP and its Russian partners took a turn for the worse over the weekend when it was announced that the oil giant was suing the Alfa-Access-Renova (AAR) consortium for … Read More
Spat Between Russia and BP Escalates
Whilst the world obsesses about how the oil industry could help bring down the oil price, a growing spat is taking place that could have huge ramifications for the oil industry. It concerns the Russians and BP, with some saying the Kremlin is trying to push BP out of the country. Over the past few … Read More
Now the Gas Dries up…
Two different stories from separate parts of the world, but one underlying trend that signals just how bad the energy crunch has become. It may be the price of oil that is grabbing the headlines but you should also keep an eye on what is happening to gas. The Emirates may have been built on … Read More
Gazprom Signs Energy Deals with Iran
Russia’s Gazprom the world’s top gas producer, has announced that it will take on big new energy projects in Iran, a move likely to anger the United States which wants Tehran isolated over its nuclear work. State-controlled Gazprom, which supplies a quarter of Europe’s gas needs, said it had agreed to develop more phases of … Read More
15,000 Birds Dead, 20,000 Poisoned in Russian Slick
The major oil spill off the southern coast of Russia killed over 15,000 birds and poisoned over 20,000, the state agricultural and natural resources monitoring agency has confirmed. “It is impossible to determine the exact number of perished birds due to the fact that the dead birds were swept to the beach and covered by … Read More
Soldiers Deployed to Black Sea Oil Spill
As hundreds of Russian soldiers have been deployed to clean up a 2,000-tonne oil spill in the weather has deteriorated, in the worse storms to hit the region in thirty years. Officials are now warning of “an environmental catastrophe” as high winds and heavy rain continued to lash Russia’s southern coastline. Thousands of tonnes of … Read More
Environmental Disaster as Russian Tanker Sinks
As the political wranglings continue about the oil spill in San Francisco bay, a greater ecological catastrophe is unfolding between Russia and Ukraine. A tanker carrying 4,000 tonnes of oil broke up yesterday in heavy seas off the Crimean peninsula, splitting in half. One senior official has called it an “environmental disaster”.