(Oilprice.com – Robert Berke – July 8, 2015) In a previous article on Oilprice, I questioned whether western sanctions imposed on Russia were being regularly breached by E.U. and Asian companies, noting that sanctions only work if all countries unite behind them. In June, the Financial Times reported that only one year after being imposed, the sanctions are eroding. It […]
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(Oilprice.com – Colin Chilcoat – July 6, 2015) As world markets nervously react to any news out of Greece, a sense of calm prevails in Russia. In short, a Greek sovereign default and exit from the euro zone is unlikely to inflict much damage on the Russian economy, already largely isolated from western financial markets. That’s not to say the […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexei Lossan, RBTH – July 6, 2015) Russia’s natural gas giant is planning to put three billion cubic meters of gas up for auction – yielding to pressure from European customers, experts say. It may also scrap plans to stop Ukrainian gas transits, reducing supply risks linked to the construction of a new […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – bne IntelliNews – July 2, 2015) Ukraine suspended Russian natural gas purchases on July 1, citing its inability to secure from Gazprom a heavily discounted price for the third quarter of the year. Henceforth, the country’s state-owned monopoly Naftogaz will rely on supplies from the European Union, and claims that volumes bought from EU […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Elena Mazneva – June 9, 2015) Ukraine needs to negotiate a new natural-gas deal with Russia just as the conflict between the two countries risks escalating again. A gas-price agreement with Russian exporter OAO Gazprom expires at the end of the month and Ukraine requires fuel to replenish stockpiles before the winter. At the same time, […]
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Gazprom has no plans to continue using Ukraine as a transit country for gas exports after 2019, Deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev told journalists. “When the transit contract with Ukraine expires, there will be no prolongation, no conclusion of a new transit agreement under any circumstances. In light of the economic, commercial, technological, investment and political risks for gas transit, there […]
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Russia’s Gazprom plans to start building a pipeline to Turkey this month to get gas to Europe without going through Ukraine, company sources said, although it has no firm agreement with Ankara and faces opposition from the European Union.
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Widely considered one of Russia’s most potent weapons, Gazprom’s financials show the slow erosion of its core business. (Business New Europe – bne.eu – Mark Adomanis in Philadelphia – May 19, 2015) As with almost every other major Russian company, 2014 was not a particularly good year for Gazprom. In fact, at first glance, the headline numbers were nothing short […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – MOSCOW BLOG: Ben Aris in Moscow – May 7, 2015) [Chart here http://www.bne.eu/content/story/moscow-blog-gazprom-buy] With the RTS Index up 30% year-to-date, foreign investors are drifting back into Russian shares simply because they are so cheap. But is the bluest of Russian blue chips and long-time market proxy Gazprom a buy again? Russian investment bank Renaissance […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexei Lossan, RBTH – January 19, 2015) Russian gas giant Gazprom says Europe must build a new pipeline from Turkey if it wants to secure energy supplies via its new route that cuts out Ukraine. Russia had been intending to supply gas to Europe that bypassed Ukraine through South Stream, which was to […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Elena Mazneva – January 13, 2015) Russia, the world’s biggest natural-gas exporter, probably cut 2014 fuel exports to the lowest in a decade as consumption in Europe and Ukraine declined. OAO Gazprom (GAZP), the state-run gas-pipeline export monopoly, supplied no more than 195 billion cubic meters of fuel from Russia to the European Union, Turkey and […]
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(Interfax – November 18, 2014) Mikhail Lesin, chairman of the board of directors of Gazprom-Media, which owns the Russian editorially independent radio station Ekho Moskvy, met the station’s members of staff on 18 November, privately-owned Russian news agency Interfax reported on the same day. They met to discuss the ongoing dispute between Lesin and Aleksey Venediktov, the station’s editor in […]
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(Interfax – November 19, 2014) Gazprom Media Board Chairman Mikhail Lesin is ready to consider a proposal from the Echo of Moscow radio minority shareholders on selling them a controlling stake belonging to Gazprom Media, Echo of Moscow Editor-in-Chief Alexei Venediktov said. “Mikhail Lesin said at a meeting with the editorial board [on Tuesday] that, if the minority shareholders make […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Carl Schreck – November 18, 2014) The doggedly independent Russian radio station Ekho Moskvy is facing an existential crisis this week, with its editorial leadership and its operations due to be scrutinized in a snap shareholders meeting on November 21 called by state-owned Gazprom-Media, which holds a controlling stake in the station. The meeting comes amid […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Panin – November 11, 2014) Speaking at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum on Monday, President Vladimir Putin vowed that Russia would develop all forms of trade with China, not just hydrocarbon exports. But the second-largest natural gas deal this year signed the previous day with Russia’s Gazprom suggests China is more interested in Russia’s […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – November 7, 2014) A state-controlled media holding has fired an Ekho Moskvy radio journalist, citing ethical norms, and threatened to dismiss the radio station’s long-standing chief editor who has led it as one of the final strongholds of media freedom in the country. The dismissal of Alexander Plyuschev followed a Twitter post […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexei Lossan, RBTH – October 6, 2014) Russian gas monopoly Gazprom has proposed to pay for gas transit through Ukraine using debt owed by Ukraine’s national oil and gas company Naftogaz. According to experts, this decision is advantageous for Kiev, since it will speed up the renewal of gas supplies to Ukraine. Gazprom […]
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(Interfax – October 6, 2014) Russian Prime Minister Dmitriy Medvedev said on 6 October that the search for a compromise with Ukraine over the gas issue needs to continue, with the understanding that the existing debts should be paid while the terms for Ukraine should be sufficiently acceptable to it. “It is necessary to continue a search for compromises, it […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Panin – September 9, 2014) Novatek, Russia’s largest independent gas producer, has been granted a license to export liquefied natural gas, or LNG, marking the next step on Russia’s gradual liberalization of a market dominated by state-owned giant Gazprom. Deputy Energy Minister Kirill Molodtsov told the TASS news agency on Saturday that the export […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Kira Egorova, Anna Kuchma, RBTH – August 19, 2014) On August 14, the Ukrainian parliament passed a law enabling Kiev to introduce sanctions against Russian companies, meaning that if measures are introduced against Gazprom, the transit of Russian gas through Ukrainian territory will be blocked. What threats does the European economy face if […]
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MOSCOW, June 23 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s EU-bound gas flows through Ukraine comply with transit contraparameters, Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said Monday. “The transit of Russian gas through Ukraine is flowing according to contract parameters with a volume over the last 24 hours of around 205 million cubic meters,” Kupriyanov said. Earlier on Monday, reports appeared in the media that […]
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(Interfax – June 18, 2014) Accidents on Ukraine’s gas transportation system will continue because not enough is being spent on maintenance, Gazprom Deputy CEO Vitaly Markelov told journalists, commenting on yesterday’s blast and fire on the Urengoi-Pomary-Uzhgorod gas pipeline in Ukraine’s Poltava region. “The gas transportation system, ours and Ukraine’s, was created as a unified gas supply system. We have […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.ru – Teneo Intelligence – June 17, 2014) Following the failure of negotiations on natural gas pricing and debt between Russia and Ukraine last weekend, Russian company Gazprom reduced supply volumes to Ukraine, the main transit country for gas delivered to Gazprom’s EU customers. However, Gazprom continues to deliver contracted amounts to the EU for now, […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – June 16, 2014) [Charts here http://www.bne.eu/content/exactly-what-fair-price-ukraine-pay-russian-gas] Russia cut Ukraine off from gas deliveries on June 16 after the emergency talks at the weekend to strike a new price for gas failed. From now on Russia won’t deliver any gas unless Ukraine pays for it in advance. The row has […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – June 16, 2014) Russia’s state-owned Gazprom cut Ukraine’s gas supply off at 10 a.m. Moscow time for failing to pay its bills after talks broke down ahead of a June 16 deadline. “This decision was taken due to systematic failure of Naftogaz Ukraine to pay,” Gazprom said in a statement. “The debt of the […]
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GORKI. June 16 (Interfax) – The conditions that were proposed to Kyiv during gas talks were better than the conditions in place under former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, Gazprom (MOEX: GAZP) CEO Alexei Miller said at a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. Firstly, the Russian side was ready to guarantee that the discount of $100 per 1,000 cubic […]
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[“Russian gas keeps flowing to Ukraine as deadline passes” – Reuters – June 10, 2014] Reuters reports that Russian gas supplies to Ukraine and the EU have remained stable, despite the passing of a deadline over disputed Ukrainian gas bills. Meanwhile, the European Commission continues to broker related negotiations. Natural gas supplies to Ukraine and the European Union were stable on Tuesday after […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Elena Mazneva – June 3, 2014) OAO Gazprom (OGZD), Russia’s gas-export monopoly, said U.S. pressure won’t stop it from supplying fuel to Europe and increasing market share in the region. “We understand that the U.S., sitting high on a hill and independent of economic cooperation with us, is pushing Europe to take wild steps,” Gazprom Deputy […]
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MOSCOW, June 2 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine has to pay Moscow the remaining part of $2.2 billion gas debt and agree on payment schedule for April-May gas supplies before June 9, press-service of Russia’s Energy Ministry said Monday. “Before this deadline Ukraine has to pay the remaining part of $2.23 billion debt and also agree on payment schedule for the […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Elena Mazneva, Brian Parkin, Ewa Krukowska – May 31, 2014) Russia and Ukraine moved closer to a deal that would keep gas flowing between the countries even as they spar over Russian support for separatists seeking to break away from the government in Kiev. After talks brokered by the European Union in Berlin, Ukraine made its […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Tim Ash, Standard Bank – May 29, 2014) I guess that is the $2.5bn for the period to the end of March, another $1bn for April/May, and then $1.7bn in pre-payment for June, as previously demanded by Moscow. EU officials have suggested though that $4bn is owed to date, and under a provisional deal […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Panin – May 28, 2014) Acting Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Tuesday that Russia should return the $1 billion worth of gas that he said it stole while annexing Crimea, and accused Moscow of not being trustworthy when it comes to negotiating. “We would like to hear an explanation from Russia, including the […]
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MOSCOW, May 20 (RIA Novosti), Nadia Koulikova – There is every possibility that Russia will turn off gas flows to Ukraine should the country not pay its outstanding debts, William Powell, senior managing editor for Platts International Gas Report, told RIA Novosti Tuesday. “To do otherwise would set a dangerous precedent that bills are optional. No other consumer is entitled […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Halia Pavliva and Ksenia Galouchko – May 19, 2014) President Vladimir Putin’s planned China visit this week is helping spark the longest rally in OAO Gazprom since 2006 as speculation mounts the Russian leader will return with a long-sought gas supply agreement. Gazprom, the world’s largest natural-gas producer, has climbed for nine days, rallying 16 percent […]
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(Oilprice.com – Daniel J. Graeber – May 14, 2014) Russian gas monopoly Gazprom says that despite the ongoing turmoil in Ukraine, the risk to disruption of European energy supplies is “insignificant” because demand is expected to be low during the spring and summer months. In its quarterly report, the company said, “At the moment due to the worsening political situation […]
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BRUSSELS, May 14 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine’s state-run Naftogaz has not paid any part of its gas debt to Russia, despite Kiev’s announcement that it is ready to cover the debt at a reduced price, a Gazprom official said Wednesday. “They have not paid even at the old reduced price, the debt remains unpaid,” said Dmitry Khandoga, Head of Gazprom’s […]
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(RIA Novosti – KIEV, May 8, 2014) Ukraine does not acknowledge the $3.5 billion debt for Russian gas deliveries earlier announced by Russian energy giant Gazprom, acting Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuriy Prodan said Thursday. “We cannot accept the figure mentioned by Gazprom because Gazprom includes in this total some calculations that are based on an economically unsound price offered to […]
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(Interfax – May 8, 2014) Ukraine is prepared to complexly settle its debt for Russian gas within 10 days after Russian gas giant Gazprom agrees to return the price to $268 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas and sign the corresponding supplementary agreement, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk said. “As soon as such a price is set and an additional […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Concorde Capital – May 7, 2014) Russia will be ready to consider a discount for natural gas to Ukraine on the second round of negotiations on the gas issue where EU Commission representatives should also be present, Russian Izvestia reported on May 7 citing its source in the government. The “second round” of negotiations […]
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BEREZHANY, Ternopol region. April 27 (Interfax) – Ukraine will start receiving reverse gas as early as October 2014, and will stop importing Russian gas after 2015, said independent parliamentary deputy and presidential candidate Petro Poroshenko. “We have negotiated an agreement and we will start receiving reverse gas from Slovakia in October, giving up Russian gas,” he told residents of the […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Joe Carroll, Nicole Gaouette and Julianna Goldman – April 23, 2014) Ukraine’s best hope for keeping furnaces and factories running through next winter is to store as much natural gas as it can after a U.S. aid pledge fell far short of the nation’s needs. Energy supplies have given Russian leader Vladimir Putin powerful economic leverage […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexei Lossan, RBTH – April 15, 2014) After seeing its gas discounts canceled by the Russian gas giant, Kyiv is seeking alternatives to purchasing gas directly from Russia. Ukraine has proposed obtaining more than 50 percent of its gas by reversing gas flows from the EU, but Gazprom is blocking the move. After […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Tatyana Zykova, special to RBTH – April 10, 2014) Despite talk in Europe of reducing dependence on Russian fuel and promises of help from the U.S., for the foreseeable future Russia remains the only country that can supply the EU with an increasing supply of cheap gas. The European Commission in Brussels is again […]
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MOSCOW, April 11 (RIA Novosti) – US and EU energy companies would not tolerate the delays in payment by Ukraine that Russia has faced, an economist at the London Vanguard investment firm told the Voice of Russia radio station Friday. “Historically, since the end of the USSR, Ukraine has repeatedly failed to pay for its Russian gas. This is an […]
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MOSCOW, April 7 (RIA Novosti) – American gas cannot become an alternative to the Russian fuel in Ukraine for the lack of “vacant export objects” in the foreseeable future, said Sergey Kupriyanov an official spokesperson for Gazprom in his interview with TV-channel Rossiya 24 Saturday. He stressed that the claims of Ukranian authorities about possibly importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) […]
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(Interfax – March 5, 2014) Ukraine must pay its debt for gas supplied by Russia based on the contracts signed in 2009, Aleksey Miller, the head of Russian gas giant Gazprom, has said, as reported by privately-owned Russian news agency Interfax on 5 April. Meanwhile, Gazprom spokesman Sergey Kupriyanov has said Ukraine has no grounds to take Russia to international […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Halia Pavliva and Ksenia Galouchko – April 3, 2014) Back in April 2007, in the midst of the greatest commodities rally on record, OAO Gazprom’s (OGZD) deputy chief executive officer, Alexander Medvedev, was talking big. Russia’s natural-gas export monopoly aspired to be the world’s largest company, he said while offering up a prediction: its market value […]
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(Interfax – Minsk, March 26, 2014) OAO [open joint-stock company] Gazprom is not yet ready to say whether the discount on gas for Ukraine that was introduced at the beginning of the year would remain in effect in the second quarter of 2014. “Concerning the price of gas for Ukraine, it will be determined starting from the second quarter of […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Christopher Brennan – March 20, 2014) Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, currently under house arrest in connection with a criminal case against him, has written an op-ed for the New York Times in which he calls for sanctions on officials and businessmen connected to President Vladimir Putin. Saying that previous U.S. and EU sanctions in response […]
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