Gaz de France v. Gazprom
Gazprom’s oil-linked pricing mechanism is under further pressure, as GDF Suez is also trying to renegotiate gas contracts with the Russian company:
France’s GDF Suez has joined other major European utilities in entering talks with Russia’s Gazprom to renegotiate the price of oil-indexed gas supply contracts, the head of economic research at its trading arm said.
“We are negotiating like the other major utilities in Europe,” said Evariste Nyouki at an energy trading conference.
He added the utility had not started an arbitration process, unlike Germany’s E.ON, which kick started legal procedures to resolve the dispute in August.
One picture (courtesy Mark Perry at the excellent Carpe Diem blog) tells it all:
The gap between US gas prices and world oil prices is approximately 75 percent of the oil price. Differentials between oil equivalent and European spot gas prices are far narrower, but they are wide enough. As US gas export infrastructure–which depend crucially on US government approvals (a scary thought given this administration’s energy policies)–comes on-line, however, European and world gas prices will come under heavy pressure, and the already obsolete oil-linked pricing mechanism will become completely untenable.
So expect even more ludicrous Gazprom attempts to rationalize the irrational in the months and years to come. These will be entertaining, in a perverse sort of way, but ultimately futile. Economics will out.
Next thing you know the French will go start bombing their former African/Middle Eastern colonies or something. Oh wait…
Comment by Mr. X — November 26, 2011 @ 3:29 pm
No one used to a command economy, or who holds the idea of one dear, is going to let economic reality intrude until it has broken down the door, stolen the silver, killed the servants and done the wife in front of the guests on the dining room table. In other words they aren’t going to give this up until someone says no and the checks don’t clear. That is going to take some time, so don’t hold your breath, but once it happens they are cooked.
Comment by Sotos — November 26, 2011 @ 5:27 pm
Yes Professor, Russians increasingly see Google as .gov-oogle:
Comment by Mr. X — November 26, 2011 @ 11:42 pm
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/MK24Ad01.html
Comment by Mr. X — November 26, 2011 @ 11:42 pm
Alas Mr. X is so retarded as to be unable to see the difference between Putin’s words and his actions, as the internet is heavily censored and controlled in Russia….
http://www.forbes.com/sites/firewall/2010/05/19/russias-slick-internet-repression-makes-chinas-look-clumsy-by-comparison/
Comment by Andrew — November 27, 2011 @ 12:47 am
Andrew – That’s what make this site interesting to read . Mr.X and Sublime Oblivion are classical in their effort to defend the mafia -regimes different ways of manipulating the truth . ” In 2008 for instance, Russia tightened the laws requiring ISPs to deploy equipment that tracks users’ online activities, increasing the Russian Web’s power to identify, track and punish dissidents. The ONI says that Russia has also deployed “Internet brigades” of users to post disinformation and propaganda, or to threaten and intimidate opposition groups. ”
Quote -Oleg Kozlovsky
A number of Western companies, including Cisco and Ernst & Young, are among the sponsors of a large Seliger Forum that will open tomorrow. Its organizer, the former leader of the infamous Nashi group, Vasiliy Yakemenko, is widely believed to be connected, among other things, with the attempt to assassinate journalist Oleg Kashin. I think that a strong statement from US officials could discourage such irresponsible corporate behavior.
http://olegkozlovsky.wordpress.com/2011/06/30/discussing-impunity-and-sanctions-with-hillary-clinton/
Comment by Anders — November 27, 2011 @ 5:05 am
Yes indeed Anders, and thanks for the link.
Comment by Andrew — November 27, 2011 @ 8:14 am
The question I have wrt shale gas is whether it is more expensive (since it involves horizontal drilling and fracking) than non shale drilling. In that case there would be a natural floor for nat gas prices, since presumably shale is dominant in both reserves and production costs. Would like to find out what that floor might be.
Comment by Surya — November 27, 2011 @ 11:03 am
Shale gas risk profile
While shale gas is generally more expensive to produce, the high cost is often offset by the low risk properties of shale gas wells. Conventional gas exploration is actually higher risk than shale gas because it requires numerous geological factors to coincide, for example the presence of a source rock with a seal and a permeable reservoir. In contrast, shale gas aims to produce gas directly from the source rock which are typically easier to find than conventional wells. Shale gas risk arises due to is low permeability and whether it can be extracted economically.
http://www.newstandard.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=78&Itemid=93
Comment by Anders — November 27, 2011 @ 3:29 pm
Geez, I step back for a little bit and the globalist/Soros funded NGOniks come out of the woodwork.
“I think that a strong statement from US officials could discourage such irresponsible corporate behavior.” It hasn’t stopped Cisco from selling the systems that create the great firewall of China (with plenty of cracks in it, to be sure). And in any case, the most repressive Internet laws outside of China that I can see on the horizon are in the U.S. Congress, with the bill introduced by SWP’s home state Congressman Lamar Smith which would create a kangaroo judge/jury/executioner to shut down websites accused of violating copyright with little appeal and trash fair use — in other words, target alternative media and ‘conspiracy theorists’ (to paraphrase White House advisor Cass Sunstein), of which it sounds like Kozlovsky is the Russian equivalent. Big Sis aka Janet Napolitano has already expressed her strong dislike for Drudge and Mr. Alex Jones, to name two examples.
Kozlovsky certainly provides no evidence that said Nashist was involved in a physical attack on anybody, but such standards are not required for a State Dept. puppet. And evidence that anti-Kremlin oligarchs have been involved in numerous murders — including that of the late Paul Klebnikov — is swept aside. Thank God for Edward Jay Epstein refusing to accept what he’s spoonfed and actually doing some real investigative journalism.
And funny that Kozlovsky just randomly met SWP — pure coincidence. Like Senor Equis spotting the good Prof. Igor Panarin on a Moscow subway platform. I’m sure someone took a photo of that too. Don’t worry The Man — Senor Equis isn’t running for Congress. You’re going to need better kompromat than accusing me of wanting to break up the U.S. and liberate the Republic of Texeria 🙂 I’m not part of the ‘Russian Committee for Peace Between the U.S. Republics’ or some similar Jamestown Foundation doppelganger.
I’m sure S/O can enlighten SWP and ‘freedom loving’ folks such as yourself about the latest Internet restrictive measures on tap in the soon to be Airstrip One UK, including takedowns of ‘cyber bullying’ and the development of retinal scanning technologies to get online.
Lastly, it is not former Russian Air Force officers who are suggesting the swarms of drones rolling off assembly lines including taser-armed ones are designed to suppress legitimate dissent in his homeland, rather than target A-rabs and Pakistanis. That would be ex-Air Force spec ops pilot John Robb, whom I’m told has quite a large active duty military Twitter following. I suppose there are still Oath Keeper types who remember that their Oath is to the Constitution and not to a politician.
http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/2011/11/drones-and-us-internal-security.html
My larger point is that the Anglo-American elite has screwed things up royally, and it is constantly harping on its rivals in Eurasia and Eastasia to keep even intelligent people like SWP distracted from the tyranny they would love to establish here.
Comment by Mr. X — November 27, 2011 @ 3:35 pm
“Georgia does not harbor Islamic radicals, however Russia does supply the Taliban, Al Qaida etc with the latest Russian anti-tank rockets etc…..”
Here ya go Andrew, Soros is gonna have to up your pay in Tblisi:
http://rt.com/politics/georgia-militant-training-camps/
http://rt.com/news/fsb-georgia-al-qaeda/
Georgia — Al-Qaeda — but I suppose they’re NATO approved ‘reformed’ Al-Qaeda like the ones that Herman Cain was actually right about seizing power in Libya
Of course you’ll dismiss that as RT propaganda. Ok.
Even the laughably anti-Russian Economist admits you guys are wide open for anyone who wants to come in from Iran:
http://www.economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches/2010/11/georgia_geopolitics_and_iran
Tsk tsk, don’t annoy your Anglo-American foreign aid doling overlords. Remember you live in a globalist Client State led by a Soros-owned Tie-Eating maniac.
Comment by Mr. X — November 27, 2011 @ 3:41 pm
Comment by Mr. X — November 27, 2011 @ 3:42 pm
In any case, back to the subject of this post, even as a Russophile I welcome the global shale gas revolution as it will make Russia produce more oil to maintain state revenues and help along with greater North American production (which even Obama and the other Soros minions can’t block) to make up for declining Saudi output.
Comment by Mr. X — November 27, 2011 @ 3:44 pm
And last but not least:
http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/senators-demand-military-lock-american-citizens-battlefield-they-define-being
Comment by Mr. X — November 27, 2011 @ 4:12 pm
I mean no insult to the Georgian people — they are fellow Orthodox, and the Patriarch of Tblisi has been outspoken in calling for reconciliation between the two nations. But there is an evil power that seeks to divide peoples who have been mostly friendly for 200 years and enslave them to an anti-Orthodox, anti-Christian global ‘New World Order’. You can call me a tin foil hat wearer all you want, but if you claim to believe in the New Testament the signs are all there. All these people like Soros are just puppets on demonic strings.
Comment by Mr. X — November 27, 2011 @ 5:08 pm
I’m too creeped out to keep posting at this madhouse.
First, alleged Brit Andrew’s lavish praise for Pakistani fighting prowess — praise for a British-spawned Pashtun army that hates Americas’ guts and has practically been shipping the IEDs sending our guys home in caskets — is too creepy. And so is the Prof’s comment that not to worry this whole thing will just blow over we should just keep flushing American taxpayer dollars down the Pakistani toilet by bribing them to ignore 24 deaths and the egregious violation of their sovereignty is also bat$%^& insane. Here’s my question: WHAT WOULDN’T the Professor advocate to avoid sending logistics thru Russian controlled territory, launching the MREs into outer space at a billion per launch? Why doesn’t he just come out and say get the hell out of Afghanistan already if supplying our troops via Russia is so anathema to his Jacksonian sensibilities, that he’d rather bribe the folks killing our troops? Could it be that if he dares admit Ron Paul is right and we must get outta the Afcrap trap straightaway, he’d be ridiculed, groped extra by the TSA, or worse?
You all are starting to make Jamestown moonbat Ekaterina Fitzpatrickeva and brother Alex Jones all look quite reasonable in comparison.
Comment by Mr. X — November 27, 2011 @ 9:40 pm
Mr. X: Promises, promises.
Go back and read my posts on Afghanistan from ’09 and ’10 and get back to me.
Mr X, are you so retarded that you take Russian state propaganda organs at their word?
I mean you do show a sub simian level of intelligence, but that takes the cake.
Not to mention it seems a bit counter intuitive that a country that makes the biggest per capita contribution to supporting the US war on terror (Georgia) would also be training Islamic terrorists who would then be used to kill its own troops.
But logic is, alas, not your strong point.
As for praising the fighting prowess of the British created Pakistani Army, well whats wrong with praising someones fighting prowess? They do fight well, certainly better than any Russian ever would, probably because they are the inheritors of the British Regimental system. I don’t like Pakistans support for Islamists one little bit. It’s like respecting the French Foreign Legion but despising French Nuclear testing in the pacific and the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior.
As for “all the assistance from Russia” in the war on terror, more BS from Mr. X, their assistance has been negligible, and the supposed transit of materials (limited to non combat stores such as food) through Russia has been extremely unreliable at best.
By the way, Catholicos (to give him his proper title) Illya II speaks of reconciliation (because he is actually a Churchman rather than a KGB plant) but he is also solidly opposed to any, and I mean any, Russian State influence in Georgia.
As for the “mostly friendly” relations over 200 years, at a personal level between people yes, but in terms of Russian occupation, certainly not, hence the multiple rebellions against Russian rule starting with the Kingdom of Imereti in 1810, and continuing through all the way to the 1930’s. Learn some history scumbag.
Comment by Andrew — November 27, 2011 @ 10:31 pm
“As for “all the assistance from Russia” in the war on terror, more BS from Mr. X, their assistance has been negligible,” The first bombers that struck targets in Afghanistan flew over Russian air space, the ‘B-ones’ from Dyess AFB. You see Andrew, some folks know more in this world than some snotty Soros-employed Englishman sitting in Tblisi, and have access to facts you don’t. See Congressman Rohrbacher. The first world leader to offer actual military assistance was Putin, according to David Frum in The Right Man back when Frum said Bush and Putin were gonna be BFFs forever, before Khodorkovsky went to jail and Darth Cheney turned the Right back to Cold War mode because he personally LOST MONEY on that deal.
The entire Northern Alliance that stormed Mazar Al Sharif and took Kabul had been on the Russian payroll for years prior to autumn 2001. And lastly of course is the Russian Railways announcement that they’re now taking lethal armament to Uzbekistan. Or do I need to link to the press release?
Contrast this with a bunch of U.S. Marine trained and BDU-equipped Georgians who bravely shot up car loads of civilians (yes, yes, Andrew, you ignore that video from 08/08/08: The Art of Betrayal, but there it is, from their own cellphone cams a bunch of bastards trained with my taxpayer dollars murdering Ossetians), fleeing at the first sign of Russian counterattack on August 8th, 2008, bravely skulking away when facing an equal force on their home turf, and who did absolutely nothing about the Khodori Gorge jihad haven for years because that because it created a great excuse to suck on the American taxpayer tit and pissed off Russia.|
And don’t tell me about Russian army atrocities, because I’m an American. I don’t pay their salaries.
No wonder the Israelis cut your boys loose and switched sides.
Comment by Mr. X — November 28, 2011 @ 12:12 am
But that’s it. You guys live in your little fantasy world where fighting Russia is so important we’ve gotta back Senator McCain 100% even when he proposes locking up your fellow American and British citizens without trial. Let’s not talk about that, it might distract people from Putin, the guy who just got openly jeered by his own citizens who’s supposedly the next Stalin, or something.
http://rt.com/news/georgia-arms-trade-iran/
And I’m a tin foil hat wearer? I feel like Winston in a room full of people screaming that Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia, when I remember as recently as 2001 we were allied with Eurasia, before Big Brother decided it was better to let Eurasia get flooded with cheap smack.
Comment by Mr. X — November 28, 2011 @ 12:17 am
I suppose all the Caucasian guys on this video at 7:30 who fire the grenade into the family Lada driving away are SVR all reenactors?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?index=0&feature=PlayList&v=szUPl0H082E&list=PL848C4ACC9DB3233F
Look, Andrew, your NWO bosses don’t control the narrative anymore. That’s why they’re rushing to pass all these Internet restricting bills. It pisses them of royally that they can no longer say black is white and white is black and sell their fairy tales that client states they set up are loyal democracies rather than, as David P. Goldman put it:
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/JH19Ag04.html
When you’ve lost even many fellow conservatives despite controlling the editorial boards at the WaPost, the WSJ, the Economist, The Weekly Standard, and National [por-Bankster Bailout] Review, then you know the ability to control the System is breaking down.
Comment by Mr. X — November 28, 2011 @ 12:28 am
> Mr X, are you so retarded that you take Russian state propaganda organs at their word?
Being one himself, he sure would like us to take them at their word. But we stubbornly live in our little world where Kremlin propaganda is not reality, even if broadcast via KremlinTV.
Comment by Ivan — November 28, 2011 @ 1:08 am
It is… amusing to see poor Mr. X thrash helplessly. He fails to understand that in Our world, facts and logic are helpless in the face of the power of Our money. The way Our assiduous servant George and Our media were able to drive the American Sheeple into the highly profitable Iraq adventure demonstrates that.
And though it has cost Us a pretty penny to get to this point, We now don’t even have to pay people to spout Our talking points!
Comment by a — November 28, 2011 @ 4:48 am
LOL, more Russia Today?
Are you really that desperate Mr. X?
This is the same KGB news service that tried to claim Bird Flu was created by Georgian scientists to destroy Russia…..
As for the Russian Railways announcement, a bit like when the Russians announced they would allow supply transit, it took more than a year for the first trains to run.
When (if ever) the first shipment is made, and then a few more without interference, I will believe you.
Anyway, the USMC rates the Georgians contribution highly, that is good enough for me.
By the way, it was Pankisi gorge where the civilians who fled Russian mass murder in Chechnya were located, and Pankisi was dealt with in 2004.
Khodori gorge is where the Russians committed ethnic cleansing in 2008, conducting an illegal invasion and driving out the Svan population.
As for the “mobile phone film” from the Russian propaganda film 08/08/08, well it was faked, a bit like they faked all their other film.
http://youtu.be/ZQ5eiXn7QJk
Try watching it moron.
Really Mr.X you must be on smack if you believe anything put out by the Kremlin.
Buy the way, the B-52s, B-1s, and even the B-2 Stealth bombers that attacked Afghanistan flew from Diego Garcia in the Indian ocean, so once again you are a liar Mr.X there was no transit of Russian airspace by USAF/USN/USMC aircraft on bombing missions.
As for the US Marines opinion of the Georgians, lets leave it to one of their commanders:
U.S. Marine Corps General Richard Mills, a former commander of coalition forces in south-west Afghanistan, praised Georgian troops serving in the coalition forces for “absolutely superb work.”
Speaking with journalists in Washington on April 27, Gen. Mills, who oversaw operations in the Afghan Helmand and Nimruz provinces from April 2010 until earlier this month, gave some details of assignments undertaken by the Georgian forces under his commend.
Two Georgian battalions – 31st and 32nd from the 3rd infantry brigade – were serving in Afghanistan under Mills’ command. Georgia started rotating its 32nd battalion with the 33rd battalion earlier this month.
“Each of them [31st and 32nd battalions] was magnificent unit. They were characterized by extraordinary professional performance,” Gen. Mills said after he was asked to comment on the Georgian troops’ performance in Afghanistan.
“They were so impressive in fact, that I assigned them a battle space of their own – a large area to west of Helmand province, where they operated in partnership with the Afghan forces to do full spectrum of operations near the city of Delaram [in Nimruz province],” he said.
“Georgians like to fight, they are professional soldiers, who understand what their tasks are and they are more than willing to carry them out. As a matter of fact they asked if they could be given even more duties and so one of their companies was sent to help out in place called Sangin … where a rather significant battle is being fought and again they did a magnificent job up there,” Gen. Mills said.
Sangin district in the Helmand province is regarded to be an important transit route for weapons, drugs and militants.
Gen. Mills said in Sangin the Georgian company was given “a tough” tasks against “a very determined enemy.”
“They [the Georgian unit] came out successful in every encounter; so I was extraordinary impressed,” he said.
http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=23387
As for running away, well that explains the wiping out of the Russian general commanding’s combat group consisting of an entire armored battalion….
And the fact that on the 3rd day of fighting the Georgians had actually retaken most of Tshkinvali from a far larger force (the Russians outnumbered the Georgians significantly in men, armor, artillery, and air power…..) before withdrawing in accordance with the ceasefire agreement (which Russia proceeded to break).
Also interesting to note the Russian claims of Georgian equipment destroyed are laughable, which they then try and excuse by saying Georgia was completely rearmed…. never mind Russia, maybe you will do better next time, after all those billions of dollars wasted on lining the pockets of Kokoity and Bagapsh are surely as well spent as the money given to Kadyrov….
Never mind Mr.X we won’t be surprised if you continue with your insane fantasies…
Comment by Andrew — November 28, 2011 @ 5:03 am
For instance, here are two of Our Senators on a bill now before Congress allowing the President to detain US citizens indefinitely without trial:
“Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) explained that the bill will “basically say in law for the first time that the homeland is part of the battlefield” and people can be imprisoned without charge or trial “American citizen or not.” Another supporter, Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) also declared that the bill is needed because “America is part of the battlefield.”
We do enjoy people like Our good Professor and his entourage diverting attention from Our activities in the West by pointing fingers at Our rebellious servant Vladimir. This greatly facilitates Us in the pursuit of Our First Principle:
All for Ourselves and nothing for other people!
Comment by a — November 28, 2011 @ 5:09 am
Funny this KGB -KLAN . Gas-prices are going to fall and the ambitious upgrade of the Russian military is in jeopardy . Gazprom, Russia’s state-controlled gas giant, often disparages efforts to extract shale gas—a sure sign that its bosses are rattled. Yet they may not be affected for a while. America’s shale revolution began 20 years ago, but its impact has been felt only in the past five years. Europe’s may take just as long, reckons Mr Stevens. But when the fracking begins in earnest, it could turn Europe’s energy market on its head, too.
http://www.economist.com/node/21540256
And the KGB -junta needs their old terror proxys to do the dirty work . Did I miss anyone noting the likely connection between the Kurdish PKK’s bombing of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline in Turkey a mere 72 hours ahead of Russian tanks rolling on Georgia?
If someone has clearly and I have missed it in disconnection, good. If not, call me crazy, but let’s keep in mind that the PKK is a communist group – the Kurdistan Worker’s Party – and therefor the type of rebel group that stays near Putin’s KGB heart.
http://threatswatch.org/rapidrecon/2008/08/did-russia-employ-communist-pk/
Comment by Anders — November 28, 2011 @ 6:12 am
Putin and his endless vacay:
http://www.snob.ru/profile/23507/blog/43431
Comment by La Russophobe — November 28, 2011 @ 7:59 am
And it could happen quicker than that, Anders. LNG could rock Gazprom’s world a lot sooner, esp. if US regulators get the hell out of the way. BTW, did you see that Total is appealing the French decision revoking its license for exploration/production of shale gas?
Andrew,
Lie #1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ5eiXn7QJk&feature=youtu.be
Nice try with the deflection, but this film funded by the usual State Dept. NGO cutouts doesn’t explain the scene where they cheer, hoot and bravely fire grenades into a Lada, killing an entire family. So FAIL. You cannot explain away that clip, so you just point to the bombings of various towns. CNN got caught doing the same thing, claiming that Georgian planes were Russian. Whether deliberate disinfo or not, quite easy to do when the planes rolled off the same Soviet assembly line.
Lie #2
Russia never opened up its air space to U.S. bombing missions after 9/11: this one took less than a minute to rebut — and this from a POLISH source, in PDF, 2010.
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:6iJywvu_Tu0J:kms1.isn.ethz.ch/serviceengine/Files/ISN/114974/ipublicationdocument_singledocument/530121eb-7a0f-4965-829c-630a7fa8cafa/en/a121-2010.pdf+post+9/11+Russian+air+space+for+Afghanistan&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjO5nRQdFHtmoUhosLNs_U6WLaMknyaVR8TiaTvXlYeHzDtpSQJmkdLv607Meziul5Bc-bvtkcRI_rn5U4DqLRip9xS5ne-EMMF8xOdYR9vLpZeRHRgrYaEGhqWSX9O8IHqf8GI&sig=AHIEtbQHOTKDIxs_G1EI-MDHHcKsdw6J5A
Lie #3 Phobie mindlessly or deliberately repeated DHS lie that Russian hackers were involved in the failure of a water pump in Illinois. They were not. She obviously doesn’t want to discuss that further.
FAIL FAIL FAIL
As Hillary said, “We (meaning a’s globalist one-world government sovereignty-loathing overlords) are losing the information war.” With lower level minions like Phobie and Andrew, I understand why!
Comment by Mr. X — November 28, 2011 @ 1:21 pm
Hell Andrew, I know Russians who’ve gotten a ride in the American-taxpayer funded Hummers the Russian Army captured in Tskinval, that were taken to Moscow and sold for surplus, and I also know for a fact the Georgian Army outnumbered Russia’s entire 58th Army based in Vladikavkaz, and was better trained. Didn’t matter. If the Georgians were winning and could push the Russians back over the Caucases as the deranged Misha the Tie Eater bragged he would, they didn’t need the cease fire. So you keep making excuses for an army that did not want to fight and die for Misha’s mistake.
“Also interesting to note the Russian claims of Georgian equipment destroyed are laughable, which they then try and excuse by saying Georgia was completely rearmed….”
Comment by Mr. X — November 28, 2011 @ 1:27 pm
Don’t worry Andrew, when Ron Paul gets elected, your NGOnik and State Dept. hack buddies are going to have to find some honest work instead of endless meddling in Anglo-American client states. Good luck with that.
Comment by Mr. X — November 28, 2011 @ 1:30 pm
Beijing at this state clearly preferring to deal with Turkmenistan rather than the arrogant natural gas apparatchik “biznessmen” in Moscow.
The Putin mafias propagandists goes bananas , why ? The prospects of falling gas prices Creates Hysteria . The mobster regime have problems .
Turkmenistan’s Foreign Ministry blamed Russia for the pipeline explosion and subsequent conflagration that halted the country’s gas exports, stating, “A letter of Gazpromexport about the decrease of the volumes of taking Turkmen natural gas received by the Turkmen side by the end of the day on April 7 cannot be regarded as a preliminary notification, because on April 8 at 11 a.m. the sharp reduction in the volume of natural gas received by the Russian side began.”
When Turkmen natural gas exports to Russia finally resumed in January 2010, they did so at a much lower level, about 10 bcm annually, and at a lower price, which had been roughly $300 per thousand cubic meters (tcm) in the first quarter of 2009 prior to the explosion, to a price less than $200 per tcm through 2010. Eight months after Gazprom cavalierly turned off the taps, on 14 December 2009 China and Turkmenistan formally opened the first section of a 1,139 mile-long, 40 bcm per year natural gas pipeline, financed by China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), China’s largest oil and gas producer and supplier. The Turkmenistan-China pipeline has since been expanded to carry Uzbek and Kazakh natural gas, and sales to China have expanded since, as in June that China announced its second pipeline with Turkmenistan, a $22 billion, 5,370 mile-long pipeline with an annual capacity of 30 bcm had begun operations. http://oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/Green-Eyed-Gazprom-Attacks-Turkmenistan-s-Natural-Gas-Resources.html
Comment by Anders — November 28, 2011 @ 4:52 pm
Azerbaijan’s energy wealth is naturally of interest to the the Putin regimes energy imperialists , who want it to sell more oil and gas northwards. Russia’s energy giant, Gazprom, is desperate for more gas. But the Azerbaijani government is having none of it: it supplies Georgia with gas against Russia’s wishes, for example, and it is enthusiastic about pipelines to the West (including the planned Nabucco pipeline). Officials see big advantages in not depending on a single buyer
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1043214/The-Pipeline-War-Heartbreaking-phone-woman-trapped-missiles-fall.html –
Comment by Anders — November 28, 2011 @ 5:05 pm
a consortium, led by the BP, was created for the construction of a Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline to transport gas from the Shah-Deniz on the Caspian shelf. In 2017-2018, production is to start there. But the projected production levels would reach only 16 billion cubic meters of gas annually, of which 6 billion cubic meters are to be bought by Turkey under long-term contracts. So only 10 billion cubic meters of gas are left for Europe, despite the fact that there are three gas pipelines – Nabucco, ITGI and TAP – a total design capacity of about 50 billion cubic meters from Turkey to Europe.
Moreover, the main project for Europe, NABUCCO, is designed for 31 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
“The problem may be resolved by involving Turkmenistan. The country produces about 60 billion cubic meters a year and claims huge successes in exploration.
In particular, Ashgabat announced last week an increase in the minimum recoverable gas resources in the field of Southern Yoloten in the east, from 4 to 13 trillion cubic meters and the maximum from 12 to 21 trillion. But in order to connect them to the Southern Corridor it needs to be cross the Caspian Sea.
Moscow News reminds that Brussels has received from the leadership of the European Union a mandate to negotiate with Baku and Ashgabat on a tripartite agreement on the Trans-Caspian project. The parties have formed a working group to prepare the documents.
By and large, Moscow has no leverage to counter Trans-Caspian project, apart from demonstrating power to its smaller neighbors and the consolidation of efforts with Iran. Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan are already preparing retaliatory steps. According to WikiLeaks, Baku consulted on this matter with Washington, and Turkmenistan’s government established the country’s Navy Day, and requested the Navy to guard the state’s interests in the Caspian Sea”, concluded the Russian newspaper.
Comment by Anders — November 28, 2011 @ 5:21 pm
@Anders–thanks for bringing up the 2009 explosion of the Turkmenistan-Russia pipeline. I blogged about it several times when it happened. It always reminded me of the movie/play “The Producers”, in which the con men blew up the theater where “Springtime for Hitler” was playing.
Also worth mentioning that Total recently discovered an enormous gas field in the Azeri section of the Caspian Sea.
Comment by Tim Newman — November 28, 2011 @ 8:44 pm
Yeeeeeeess Anders, keep rubbing your hands together with glee like your idol old Z. Brzezinski. You’ve won the Global Chessboard! Checkmate those darn Asiatic barbarians! Oh wait crap…those darn Russkies started investing in shale gas and oil projects from Argentina to Texas to Africa. And the ChiComs just bought all the gas you thought was going to EUrope, and the Fed has to print the money for the EUros to be able to pay for the Nabisco crackers pipeline. Darn them!
Funny how that WikiLeaks just constantly reinforces Washington’s world view of things, doesn’t it?
Comment by Mr. X — November 28, 2011 @ 8:44 pm
NABUCCO pipeline cracker Mr. X . Your arguments shows signs of mental disorder . This “childish Yeeeeeeess Anders ” for not accepting the Putin -mafias new world order with sky high gas prises is a good quality stamp on the professors analyses . The Russian mafia anonymous ” mittarbeiter ” is angry and he is ranting .
When Turkmen natural gas exports to Russia finally resumed in January 2010, they did so at a much lower level, about 10 bcm annually, and at a lower price, which had been roughly $300 per thousand cubic meters (tcm) in the first quarter of 2009 prior to the explosion, to a price less than $200 per tcm through 2010. Eight months after Gazprom cavalierly turned off the taps .
http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=38603
That would necessitate building a new export pipeline, dedicated to Azerbaijani gas, via Turkey to EU territory. In the wake of the signing event in Izmir, Abdullayev has recommended drawing up a feasibility study for a dedicated pipeline in 2012, putting the line’s first stage into operation by 2017, and expanding its capacity in subsequent years, correlated with gas production growth in Azerbaijan. Building a dedicated pipeline would be a joint Turkish-Azerbaijani project, with possible third-party involvement (presumably by Western partners in Azerbaijani gas extraction projects). Leaving no doubt about Baku’s interest in such a project, Abdullayev stated that “President Ilham Aliyev is the initiator” (Trend, October 26).
Comment by Anders — November 29, 2011 @ 1:32 pm