Shell could be forced to renegotiate the terms of its involvement in the Sakhalin 2 project this week, when the Russian government publishes a damning report on the controversial $20bn (ÂŁ10.2bn) oil and gas venture. The Anglo-Dutch oil giant also faces hundreds of millions of dollars in fines. A spokesman for Sakhalin Energy, the Shell-led … Read More
Russian oil
EU Seeks Russian Energy Deal
The European Union is urging Russia and its neighbours to commit to long-term energy contracts that will guarantee them affordable oil and natural gas supplies. The appeal came on the first day of a two-day conference of officials from the 25 EU nations and oil and gas exporting countries.
Russia Punishes Georgia with Huge Gas Price Hike
In a move that has echoes of a year ago, Russia has announced that it is to double the price of gas to its neighbour Georgia. The move is being seen as part of its increasingly bitter campaign of retribution against the country, which is already reeling from a string of punitive measures imposed by … Read More
Row Escalates Between US And Russia Over Gas
There are signs that there is a growing diplomatic row between the US and Russia over energy and trade. The Times has reported how “American oil companies Chevron and ConocoPhillips could be shut out of a massive Arctic gas project in a sharp chilling of trade relations between Moscow and Washington”.
British Government Wades Into Sakhalin Row
The British government has now waded into the spat between Russia and Shell over its $20bn Sakhalin-2 energy project, suggesting a diplomatic row could be brewing. Downing Street, is said to be following events “very closely” and says: “The government is raising its concerns about the decision with the Russian government”. The US state department … Read More
Russians Fight Foreign Oil Multinationals
Over $70 billion dollars worth of Russian oil and gas licences could become part of a legal dispute between Russia and a group of oil multinationals. There have been press reports that a spokesperson for the Russian Natural Resources Ministry, said that the Russian Government was considering withdrawing the licence for ExxonMobil’s Sakhalin I offshore … Read More
Putin: We are Not An Energy Superpower
President Vladimir Putin has denied that Russia is acting like a superpower by throwing its weight around to control prices and supplies of oil and gas to countries like Ukraine. “We’re not behaving like an energy superpower,” he said yesterday at the Russian-organised Valdai Club. “We just want negotiations that are fair. We don’t need … Read More
Sweden Attacks Baltic Gas Pipeline
Sweden’s Prime Minister, Goran Persson, has attacked an ambitious project to build a 750-mile gas pipeline beneath the Baltic Sea as a potential ecological disaster. Despite his comments the ÂŁ3.4bn pipeline project –called the North European Gas Pipeline or NEPG – is going ahead.
Russian Oil Production Overtakes Saudi Arabia
The populist Russian newspaper, Komsomolskaya Pravda, ran the headline yesterday: “Russia takes first place in oil output rankings”. The story was based on OPEC figures showing that Russia is now extracting more oil than Saudi Arabia. The figures reflect a trend stretching back as far as 2002, but are being hailed by Russia as evidence … Read More
“A Disaster for Sakhalin”
Rich Cookson’s final blog from Sakhalin: “The VIP lounge at Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk airport is packed with Russian politicians and foreign oil workers. Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev – the man tipped to be the next Russian President – is visiting the liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in the south of Sakhalin today. His delegation … Read More