Estonia wary of Nord Stream expansion
Estonian Defense Minister Urmas Reinsalu sent a letter to Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet on Oct. 23 urging the government to refuse to allow the third and fourth lines of the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline project to run through Estonia’s Exclusive Economic Zone. Reinsalu’s letter comes just a month after the Russo-German project requested permission to perform studies on Estonia’s seabed. Estonia rejected a similar request in 2007 for environmental and safety reasons and on the grounds that hosting a strategic Russian asset could create a security threat for the Baltic country. READ MORE
Nord Stream - supply without demand
The controversial Nord Stream pipeline provides Russian gas directly to Germany, bypassing Poland and Ukraine. But despite the opening of a new second line, it is running far below capacity. READ MORE
Strategic and Tactical Decisions
The Problem of Development of Shtokman Field has Many Components. READ MORE
Gazprom Completes Nord Stream’s 2nd Pipeline
Russian gas giant Gazprom has completed the welding of the last joint on the second leg of the Nord Stream pipeline intended to deliver Russian natural gas to Europe bypassing existing transit countries, the company said on Wednesday. READ MORE
Russian, German leaders launch Nord Stream gas pipeline
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and German Chancellor Angela Merkel launched the Nord Stream gas pipeline on Tuesday, starting delivery of Russian natural gas to Germany bypassing existing transit countries. READ MORE
Project Nord Stream: what’s next?
The meeting of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Hannover on 19 July was an important event for further development of the Nord Stream pipeline project and first of all concerning Russia’s proposal to consider the construction of the third line on the Nord Stream pipeline. However, Angela Merkel said that Germany would not need “a third, fourth or fifth branches of Gazprom’s pipeline”, and it became clear that she didn’t support Moscow’s ambitions to expand the Nord Stream. Moreover, according to Merkel, Gazprom should reduce gas price in order to attract European consumers. READ MORE
A Corporate Ostpolitik
From the Vltava to the Volga, Germany's relationship during the last century with Central and Eastern Europe was a tumultuous affair. But ties between Berlin and the countries to its east in the new millennium are proving to be a lot happier and mutually beneficial. READ MORE
Russia Plans Increased Energy Exports
Senior Russian officials have made clear that the country’s energy policies will continue to evolve around the nexus of ambitious export plans. The government pledged to make the country’s gas exports more flexible. Russia’s total gas exports will include 10 percent of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by 2020 and 15 percent by 2030, Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, announced on September 17. The global demand for hydrocarbons will be increasing in the next decade according to Putin. READ MORE
Who Will Stop Russian Energy March to Europe?
Dependence of the states of Eastern and Middle Europe from Russian gas and oil is practically absolute. This calls a concern that energy dependence can transform into a political one. READ MORE
Pipeline Interdependence
Russia has been making enormous efforts recently aiming to reduce its dependence on energy transit across Belarus and Ukraine. It is assumed that the aim will be achieved after commissioning of the gas mains known as the "Nord Stream" and the "South Stream", which will keep Europe, like in "tentacles", in energy dependence from Russia. READ MORE
