Belarus Got Into Energy Trap
The issue of oil customs duties has been left outside the framework of the Customs Union, and Belarusian authorities have finally surrendered to Moscow. READ MORE
Nabucco And Baku–Ashkhabad’s Contraposition
Today the gas pipeline Nabucco is probably the most important Western energy project in Eurasia. If implemented, it would significantly reduce energy dependence of the EU on Russia. Therefore Nabucco acquires a wide geopolitical dimension exceeding its possible economic benefit. READ MORE
Azerbaijan Seeks Alternative Gas Export Routes: Sending a Signal to Ankara
“We are interested in exporting our resources through different routes,” Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev stated during his visit to Bulgaria on November 13. On the same day, he paid a short working visit to Sofia to meet his counterpart Georgi Parvanov and to sign an inter-governmental agreement on the transit of Azeri gas to Europe though the Black Sea. This was the third agreement signed with a foreign country during the past month. Previous agreements were signed with Russia and Iran. Analysts believe that these latest developments hint at Baku’s plans to diversify its export options and reduce its dependence on the so-called “Turkish route”. READ MORE
The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pipeline
Rügen is best known as a popular German tourist destination. But now the Baltic Sea island has taken on a new role as staging point for an energy project that is as ambitious as it is controversial: the Nord Stream gas pipeline from Russia to Germany. Next spring the first pipeline segments will likely be dropped to the sea floor in a line that will wind through Russian, Finish, Swedish, Danish and German waters—conspicuously avoiding the Baltic states and Poland. READ MORE
First Foreign Trip Takes Ukraine's New President To Brussels
European integration is high on the agenda of Ukraine's foreign policy, the country's new president said in Brussels. Yanukovych surprised observers by picking Brussels and not Moscow for his first international trip. READ MORE
Lithuania Will Strengthen Economic Cooperation With Turkey
"Lithuania is interested in the successful development of transport and energy infrastructure projects connecting the Baltic and Black Sea regions," President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė said at the meeting with Turkish Minister for EU Affairs, Egemen Bağiş. READ MORE
Berlin–Rome–Ankara
Following the results of the meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan his Russian colleague Vladimir Putin suggested to deepen the cooperation within energy sphere by assets exchanging. First of all the case is about the access to the resources of Black and Caspian Sea and the gas transporting system of Turkey. Also Ankara promises to arrange all approvals for the South Stream piping till November. Gazprom says that now Turkey stands in one list with its other strategic partners – Germany and Italy. READ MORE
Medvedev-Erdogan talks to focus on gas, oil, nuclear projects
Gas pipelines and a project to build the first nuclear power plant in Turkey, will dominate talks between the Russian president and the visiting Turkish premier on Wednesday, the Kremlin said. READ MORE
Europe can lose part of Azerbaijani gas
In 2010, Azerbaijan will produce over 28 billion cubic meters of gas, the republic will have free volume of fuel for export. Along with the traditional markets of gas sale such as Georgia and Turkey, this year Azerbaijan starts supplying gas to new markets - Russia and Iran. READ MORE
Russia-Belarus Oil Dispute Threatens Europe’s Supply
Russia and Belarus have failed to renew an agreement on crude oil export tariffs that expired on New Year’s Eve, raising the prospect that yet another otherwise unremarkable energy pricing dispute between Russia and a neighbor could unravel into a midwinter fuel shut-off on the Continent. READ MORE
