(Interfax – MOSCOW, May 21, 2013) Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said he expected political signals on Russian-EU gas and electricity cooperation to come after the Russia-EU Summit in Yekaterinburg. “I hope we will discuss these issues in detail in the framework of the Russia-EU Summit in less than two weeks in Yekaterinburg,” Dvorkovich said at a briefing in Moscow. Dvorkovich said that Russian President Vladimir Putin and a
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – May 21, 2013) The Russian government has no plans to break up the state-owned gas monopoly Gazprom, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich told the state-owned paper Rossiiskaya Gazeta on May 20. Speculation has been mounting that the state will break the inefficient behemoth up in its quest to make Russias biggest tax payer more efficient. More specifically, Gazprom is due to lose its export
(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Tom Balmforth – MOSCOW – May 20, 2013) Russia’s biggest company turned 20 this year. But at Gazprom, there appears to be little cause for celebration. The state-controlled natural gas monopoly, which was established as a publicly traded corporation in 1993, recently announced that its net profits fell by 11 percent last year and its valuation dipped below $100 billion for the first time since 2009.
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anatoly Medetsky – May 13, 2013) The government’s fiscal watchdog has started looking at Gazprom’s books in an audit that is poised to produce exciting results, the agency’s chief said. “I think the findings will be interesting,” Sergei Stepashin, chairman of the Audit Chamber, said Friday, Interfax reported. His remarks are the latest update on the sweeping audit after he announced in January that it
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Jake Rudnitsky – May 2, 2013) Russia, the world’s biggest oil producer, boosted crude and condensate production 1.5 percent in April from a year earlier to 10.47 million barrels a day, close to a post-Soviet era record. Daily output grew 0.2 percent from March, according to preliminary data sent by e-mail today from the Energy Ministry’s CDU-TEK unit. The record of 10.49 million barrels was reached
(Interfax – BUDAPEST, May 2, 2013) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has described problems between Russia and the European Union stemming from the EU’s Third Energy Package as “artificial” and expressed confidence they will be solved. “We anticipate that the problems with the Third Energy Package that some of our partners are artificially trying to create will be resolved, and the Russian Federation in December last year put our concrete
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anatoly Medetsky – April 25, 2013) ExxonMobil was a highlight of an investment conference in Moscow on Wednesday, attended by U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul, where speakers discussed the prospects of U.S. business in Russia. Organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, the event sought to emphasize trade and investment despite political tensions between the countries. McFaul recalled how President Vladimir Putin and President
(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Nathan Gray – April 15, 2013) One of the most famous and secretive features of the Soviet Union, closed cities – known today in Russian as ZATOs – still dot the country, though in far fewer numbers than during the Cold War. The cities, which numbered upward of 100 throughout the different republics in the Soviet period, were either declared closed because of existing sensitive
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Agnes Lovasz – April 16, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the government to come up with a plan to revive the flagging economy after a minister warned that a recession is possible as companies cut investment and export demand wanes. Putin told Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who will address lawmakers tomorrow, to devise steps to aid “shoots” of growth, according to televised remarks. While not
(Interfax – April 9, 2013) Russia’s strategy on the European gas market could be built on reinforcing its position in non-EU European countries and introducing independent gas companies to Russian projects in Europe, Russian privately owned Interfax news agency reported on 9 April, quoting a source in Russia’s Energy Ministry. Separately, Gazprom CEO Aleksey Miller has said that expanding the Nord Stream gas pipeline will depend on the feasibility of
(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, April 10, 2013) Russia plans to offer Chinese investors participation in joint natural resources projects and is ready to give Beijing access to Russian mineral deposits, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said on Wednesday. In an interview with Chinese media ahead of a visit by a Russian delegation on April 15, Shuvalov said Russia and China should deepen investment cooperation in various areas, including
(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Ben Aris – April 7, 2013) Deepening economic ties with the new leadership in Beijing are evidence that Russia is increasingly looking towards Asia. A multibillion-pound raft of deals struck during new Chinese president Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Moscow demonstrates a strengthening of ties between the two countries. As does the fact that Mr Xi chose Moscow as his first foreign visit
From: “Ariel Cohen” <Ariel.Cohen@heritage.org> Subject: INVITATION: Kennan Institute Caucasus Railroads and Pipelines Conference April 2, 9:30AM-2PM Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2013 Dear Friends: I am honored to invite you to the following event, at which I co-chair a panel. If you do not live in the Washington, D.C. area, our apologies. Feel free to forward to your friends in the area who may have an interest in the subject or
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – March 28, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin was in South Africa on March 27 at the opening of the BRICS summit to highlight the growing importance of the emerging markets club that are increasingly taking the lead when it comes to global growth. “Work in the BRICS group is one of Russia’s foreign policy priorities,” said Putin in his address to the conference. “The
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Rakteem Katakey & Will Kennedy – March 25, 2013) Russia’s decision to give China a share of prized Arctic exploration licenses as part of a “breakthrough” deal signals how the world’s largest oil and gas producer and the biggest energy consumer are redrawing the global energy map. Under agreements signed during President Xi Jinping’s first state trip abroad, China may double oil imports from state-run OAO
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – March 25, 2013) The news images on Friday were dripping with symbolism. A Cypriot delegation lead by Finance minister Michael Sarris was on its way out to the airport having failed to secure a 10bn rescue package from the Kremlin, while newly anointed Chinese premier Xi Jinping was on his way in from the airport on his first foreign trip to do a raft
(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Mackensie Knorr – February 19, 2013) Meeting Report As Russia’s Soviet-era oil legacy gradually runs down, the Russian oil industry will face new challenges and higher costs. “This will result in a lower flow of revenue to the Russian government at a time when the Russian state budget has become more dependent on oil than ever before,” said Thane Gustafson, Senior Director, Russian and Caspian
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jonathan Earle and Anatoly Medetsky – March 22, 2013) Newly minted Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to push for increased oil and gas supplies from Russia and reaffirm warm bilateral ties on a three-day visit to Moscow beginning on Friday. The trip, Xi’s first international stop as president, will include meetings with President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and could see as
(Institute of Modern Russia – imrussia.org – Donald Jensen – March 19, 2013) Despite rumors of his waning influence, Rosneft chief Igor Sechin remains one of the most powerful members of Russia’s ruling establishment. Donald N. Jensen, Resident Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, discusses Sechin’s latest “string of triumphs.” Igor Sechin, chief executive of the Rosneft Oil Company, long-time
(Bloomberg News – bloomberg.com - March 20, 2013) China anticipates a breakthrough in energy talks during President Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow this week, an achievement that may strengthen ties between neighbors wary of U.S. motives on issues from Iran to Asia policy. China wants to sign an agreement on a natural-gas pipeline during Xi’s three-day trip this week, Vice Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping said at a briefing in Beijing
(opendemocracy.net – Agnia Grigas – March 18, 2013) Agnia Grigas is a development and political risk consultant to corporations and governments. She works in business and academia. Dr Agnia Grigas is the author of The Politics of Energy and Memory between the Baltic State and Russia (Ashgate Publishing, January 2013) Moscow uses energy as a geopolitical weapon and is thus in a strong position vis a vis the EU, 40%
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – March 19, 2013) The big dollop of egg on Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s face since it emerged a strip of water in the Barents Sea ceded by the then-president to Norway contains more than $30bn worth of oil and gas spells trouble for the already weakened premier. Russia and Norway had been negotiating for more than 40 years over just where to draw
(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Anastasia Matveyeva, Moskovskiye Novosti – March 18, 2013) Over the next few years, stagnation awaits the Russian economy, competitiveness of Russian producers will decline and the growth of incomes will slow down. This is the judgment of the consensus-prognosis for 2013-2014, published by the Center for Development at the Higher School of Economics. The economy will become more sluggish despite the stability of oil prices
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Stephen Bierman – March 18, 2013) Fracking isn’t just for shale. In Russia, producers are importing techniques from the U.S. to squeeze billions of dollars of extra oil from Soviet-era fields. TNK-BP, Russia’s third-largest producer, will use hydraulic fracturing combined with horizontal drilling in almost half the wells it sinks this year, a sixfold increase in just two years, the company said. OAO Rosneft (ROSN), OAO
MOSCOW, March 18 (RIA Novosti) China’s new president, Xi Jinping, will discuss energy partnership during his March 22-24 visit to Russia, his first overseas trip as leader of the world’s most populous country, the Kremlin said on Monday. The Chinese president will meet with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on March 23. The talks will focus on trade and economic cooperation, investment and “fulfilling major energy projects,” the government’s
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anatoly Medetsky – March 15, 2013) A new executive at the head of Gazprom could give a mighty boost to the stock price of the world’s biggest gas producer, especially if the replacement came with a policy change, according to managers that run funds with Russian assets. The belief comes even as there is understanding that the state-controlled giant makes its key moves at the
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Scott Rose – March 11, 2013) OAO Gazprom, Russia’s natural gas export monopoly, is thwarting efforts to boost oversight of its $28.9 billion in capital spending as the state seeks to improve investment, Deputy Economy Minister Sergei Belyakov said. “Despite the fact that it’s a state company, even we, to put it mildly, can’t always see where, how much, and why so much money is being
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Jake Rudnitsky – March 7, 2013) Russia is on course to send an unprecedented 25 percent of its crude exports to eastern markets by 2015 as rising demand from China and other Asian consumers attracts sales at the expense of Europe. The country sent 1.1 million barrels a day east in February, or 22 percent of exports, according to Bloomberg estimates based on loading programs and
(Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 10, Issue 42 – Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – Sergei Blagov – March 6, 2013) On February 25, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich traveled to China to attend a first meeting of the bilateral intergovernmental commission on energy cooperation. The commission was formed in December 2012 to replace the bilateral Russia-China energy dialogue. Dvorkovich held talks with his Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier Wang Qishan to
MOSCOW. Feb 26 (Interfax) – The development of nonconventional reserves of oil and gas in Russia in the next decade holds more promise than the Arctic, Gazprom Neft (RTS: SIBN) first deputy CEO Vadim Yakovlev told reporters. He said nontraditional reserves will be developed before the Arctic. “They are no less important than Arctic reserves, but are now the priority compared to the Arctic,” Yakovlev said. However, he said Russia
(Interfax – February 27, 2013) The Russian Natural Resources and Environment Ministry will carry out an analysis and geological study of resources and reserves in non-traditional gas deposits, including shale gas. There is a lot of focus on extraction of shale oil and gas in the mineral material base preservation program, which was drafted by the Natural Resources Ministry. The document will be discussed at a government session Thursday. The
(Oilprice.com – Felix Imonti – February 25, 2013) Russia is back. President Vladimir Putin wants the world to acknowledge that Russia remains a global power. He is making his stand in Syria. The Soviet Union acquired the Tardus Naval Port in Syria in 1971 without any real purpose for it. With their ships welcomed in Algeria, Cuba or Vietnam, Tardus was too insignificant to be developed. After the collapse of
MOSCOW. Feb 20 (Interfax) – Russia would form a reserve of oil and gas fields in its Arctic zone under a proposal contained in the Strategy for Development of Russia’s Arctic Zone and Ensuring National Security to 2020 published on the government website on Wednesday. The fund would help guarantee the nation’s energy security and ensure the steady development of the fuel and energy complex over the long term. It
NOVO-OGARYEVO. Feb 14 (Interfax) – The day former Gazprom (RTS: GAZP) chief Rem Vyakhirev was laid to rest also proved to be grave in terms of the company’s strategic outlook. Russian rivals and officials have been talking seriously about ending the company’s export monopoly, approaching this delicate issue by scrapping the monopoly on LNG exports from offshore fields. Russian producers have already voiced their desire to control their own gas
(Russia Beyond the Headlines – www.rbth.ru – Galina Starinskaya, special to RBTH- February 14, 2013) CEO Igor Sechin directed massive growth for state-owned Rosneft in 2012, developing international partnerships in offshore projects, a merger with TNK-BP and a move toward direct long-term contracts. If Gazprom loses its monopoly on exports of liquefied natural gas, as Rosneft expects, the latter will be well-positioned to overtake Gazprom in the next few years.
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – February 14, 2013) The writing is on the wall for Gazprom’s long-held monopoly over Russia’s gas business. State-owned oil major Rosneft fired the latest volley in the growing assault on the gas giant’s priviledged position by calling for an end to Gazprom’s export monopoly on liquefied natural gas (LNG) on February 13. Rosneft chief Igor Sechin called on the Russian government to liberalise exports
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Bratersky – February 12, 2013) Rem Vyakhirev, the charismatic co-founder of Gazprom who successfully fought attempts to reform the gas monopoly, died in Moscow, the state controlled firm announced late Monday. He was 78. Vyakhirev was a career gas industry man who worked his way up the ranks to become first deputy minister of the U.S.S.R Gas Ministry. He played a key role in
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Howard Amos – February 12, 2013) Natural gas assets being sold by crisis-ridden Greece are at the center of an escalating battle between Russian companies with ready cash and European officials reluctant to facilitate the growth of Moscow’s influence in their backyard. One of the juiciest prizes of Greece’s privatization program, gas company DEPA and its transmission subsidiary DESFA, are expected to fetch between 1
(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Irina Granik, Moskovskiye Novosti – February 11, 2013) Old arguments have risen again in the government, after the publication of the “Five Years of Effectiveness” economic program earlier this month. The themes, as before, are how much money should remain in the state reserve in case of a crisis, and how to finance investment projects with state participation. Economic Development Minister Andrei Belousov considers, first,
(Strategic Forecasting/STRATFOR – Geopolitical Weekly – Lauren Goodrich and Marc Lanthemann – stratfor.com – February 12, 2013) The future of Russia’s ability to remain a global energy supplier and the strength the Russian energy sector gives the Kremlin are increasingly in question. After a decade of robust energy exports and revenues, Russia is cutting natural gas prices to Europe while revenue projections for its energy behemoth, Gazprom, are declining starting
MOSCOW. Feb 7 (Interfax) – Russia will soon present the UN with the results of its research on the extent of the continental shelf in the central Sea of Okhotsk, and later in the Arctic Ocean more than 200 miles from the shore, official spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Alexander Lukashevich said at a Thursday briefing. “Russia has long been conducting systematic work on the proper clearance of its
SOCHI, February 4 (RIA Novosti) Russia and Ukraine have not yet agreed on ways to lower the price of Russian gas regardless of whether Ukraine joins the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday. “At present, we cannot officially confirm that any agreement has been reached,” Peskov said. Russia’s Ambassador to Ukraine Mikhail Zurabov said on Friday that the two countries
MOSCOW, January 29 (RIA Novosti) Russia’s Oil Wealth Fund will be totally consumed if world oil prices plunge to $60 per barrel and stay at that level for a year, experts from the Russian School of Economics (VSE) said on Tuesday. That scenario presents “a shock not only for the budget system but also for the economy as a whole,” experts from the Higher School of Economics’ Development Center
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Ryan Chilcote, Anna Shiryaevskaya & Lyubov Pronina – January 23, 2013) OAO Gazprom (GAZP) may lose its monopoly on natural gas exports to domestic competitors as long as the move doesn’t cut prices and damage Russia’s economic interests, according to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. “It is possible, because there are other, independent gas producers,” Medvedev said today in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Davos, Switzerland.
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Roland Oliphant – January 24, 2013) The federal government will submit its final Arctic territorial claims with the United Nations by the end of the year, the country’s leading Arctic scientist said. Artur Chilingarov, the veteran explorer who led the expedition to plant a Russian flag on the seabed at the North Pole in 2007, told Rossia 24 television that Russia’s claim to a portion
DAVOS, January 23 (RIA Novosti) The danger of a global slump in the raw material markets remains a key threat to the Russian economy, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday. That means the Russian economy remains vulnerable to negative changes in global markets, the premier told the World Economic Forum in Davos. “That is why we continue to be concerned over stagnation and the banking crisis in Europe,
MOSCOW, January 22 (RIA Novosti) Russia has no plans to allow foreign companies to work independently on the country’s continental shelf but will let them develop offshore deposits there in partnership with Russian state firms, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said on Tuesday. “As for the admission of foreign companies, no changes are planned, which means foreign companies can be involved as technological partners, including on the risk-sharing terms,
(Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 10, Issue 10 – Jamestown Foundation: jamestown.org – Margarita Assenova – January 18, 2013) Increased state control and consolidation of the oil and gas sector marked Russia’s energy developments in 2012, while the state budget remained heavily dependent on energy revenues. At the same time, Russia’s markets in Europe are shrinking due to the economic crisis and the “shale revolution” in the United States. European markets
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anatoly Medetsky -January 18, 2013) The United States could become the world’s biggest crude producer this year, overtaking Russia, according to a BP report. The breakthrough would come on the back of rising U.S. output of biofuels and unconventional oil, the company said in its annual Energy Outlook 2030. Saudi Arabia would slide to the No. 3 spot, the report said. “The U.S. will likely
NOVY URENGOI, January 15 (RIA Novosti) – Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday called for more intensive exploration of Russia’s oil- and gas-rich continental shelf, stressing that all shelf development projects should be long-term. “The [current] pace of geological surveys on the continental shelf is insufficient,” he said. Medvedev listed a number of reasons for the slow progress, including the natural, climatic and geological specifics of the shelf, which spans
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