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 … Read More
Russian oil
Lukoil Seeks $12 Billion of Assets in Europe
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.
Kremlin Targets BP
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 … Read More
Merkel Attacks Moscow as Row Escalates
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 … Read More
Russia Halts Oil Flow to EU as Belarus Row Escalates
Russia has halted the delivery of oil to Europe via Belarus as the acrimonious row between the two countries escalates, raising fears of oil shortages in at least five countries. Transneft, Russia’s state-controlled pipeline operator, said it had been forced to shut its 2,500-mile Druzhba pipeline, one of the world’s longest, because of a pricing … Read More
Dictator’s Death May Spark Gas Contest
The death of Saparmurat Niyazov, the idiosyncratic dictator of Turkmenistan, the former Soviet republic, could trigger a new round in the fierce battle between the United States and Russia for control of Central Asia‘s huge oil and gas reserves. Turkmenistan is the second-largest natural-gas producer in the former Soviet Union, after Russia. The country holds … Read More
Now Russia Turns Heat on BP
Hot on the heels of the Kremlin taking back ownership of Shell’s Sakhalin-2 project, the Kremlin has issued a chilling warning to BP about its future in the country. A key Kremlin official has warned BP that it has no choice but to accede to Russian demands with its latest project, or face crippling sanctions.
Sakhalin-2 Costs Rise to $25bn
So far it has been a bad week for Shell with the news that Russia has wrestled a majority controlling stake in its Sakhalin-2 project. Now it turns out the costs of the project have increased by a cool $5 billion to $25 billion. The company is blaming a “campaign of harassment by the Russian … Read More
Russia Gets Tough on Energy Sales
Russia seems to be toughening its position on energy sales to Europe. An adviser to President Putin said Moscow had no intention of observing guidelines in the EU’s energy charter that would allow non-Russian companies access to the country’s vast pipeline network. “We will not ratify the energy charter”, the adviser, Sergei Yastrzhembsky, Putin’s special … Read More
Sakhalin: Russia Seizes Control From Shell
Further to yesterday’s blog, it has now been confirmed that Shell is being forced by the Russian government to hand over its controlling stake Sakhalin-2 after months of pressure by Moscow. The move will provoke fresh fears about the Kremlin’s willingness to use the country’s growing strength in natural resources as a political weapon.