Ukrainian officials will meet today with Russian officials and representatives from state-owned energy giant Gazprom to discuss Russian natural gas supplies to Ukraine. There is no clear timetable for the talks, as quarreling between the two sides has persisted and indications are that myriad issues are still unresolved. Ukrainian Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn recently stated…
Russian energy major Gazprom has drawn the criticism of Turkish oil major BOTAS, which alleges that the Kremlin-supported entity has been using price increases to put pressure on Turkish firms. Officials from private Turkish oil and gas firms have expressed similar discontent with Gazprom, which they accuse of raising gas prices in order to induce…
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani recently paid visits to the country’s leading political and judiciary figures to gauge their reactions to perceived advances in the country’s nuclear talks with the West. The reaction, perhaps surprisingly, has been positive, albeit cautious, and one of the country’s leading hardliners, Ali Larijani, has declared himself “not pessimistic” about the…
Russian energy major Gazprom announced plans to begin supplying Turkey with natural gas in December of 2016. Gazprom’s plan, as outlined by chief Alexei Miller, is to route approximately 63 billion cubic meters of gas per annum underneath the Black Sea and into Turkey, which would then route it to European markets should the EU…
The Iranian oil ministry has declared itself ready and able to cope with oil prices should they reach $25/barrel. Tehran had previously allied itself with countries such as Venezuela whose economies depend heavily on hydrocarbons profit to function, though the most recent diplomatic offensive appears to have failed to have the desired effect. Bijan Namdur…
Russian energy major Gazprom announced that the company will begin to shift the flow of natural gas supplies destined for the European Union. Gazprom chief Alexei Miller stated that the company will begin to channel resources through Turkey, and from that point into European markets. The move appears to be geopolitically motivated, as it will…
With oil production continuing at mostly normal rates despite the dramatic fall in prices to $49, Iran has launched a diplomatic front aimed at persuading other OPEC states to reduce their own production of hydrocarbons. The effort, which includes support from Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has thus far fallen upon deaf ears. The…
Russian energy giant Gazprom confirmed yesterday that Ukraine has at long last settled a debt of nearly $2bn USD. The Ukrainian state energy firm Naftogaz has similarly published that it transferred a sum totaling $1.65bn USD to Gazprom accounts in Moscow. The payment comes as the second of two commiserate payments made to Gazprom over…
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow will abandon the South Stream pipeline project. The South Stream project would have consisted of a submarine pipeline running under the Black Sea and into Central Europe. The project quickly lost momentum as relations between Russia and the European Union soured and the EU posed sanctions on the…
Multi-billion dollar Indian conglomerate Essar Group will seek to work around Western sanctions to broker an oil-for-steel deal with Iran. India is currently one of the National Iranian Oil Company’s largest clients, while Iran continues to purchase significant quantities of Indian steel in spite of comprehensive sanctions that complicate transacting business with NIOC or other…
