U.S. Oil Makes it to Ukraine, a blow to Moscow
U.S. crude exports are gaining traction in Europe as even Ukraine turns into a significant consumer of American barrels at the expense of Russian supplies amid heightened U.S. political pressure on Moscow and problems over contaminated Russian oil.Ukraine this month received its first ever barrels from the United States, according to Refinitiv Eikon flows data, as the tanker Wisdom Venture unloaded 80,000 tonnes of Bakken crude in Odessa on July 6 for the Kremenchug refinery…
DTEK to Develop the Zinkivska Block
DTEK Oil&Gas and its subsidiaries have been selected as winners in a competition for the largest Product Sharing Agreement (PSA) in Ukrainian history. Subsequent to signing the PSA, the company will invest over $37 million into the development of Zinkivska block.DTEK Oil&Gas plans to reanalyze previously attained data from dynamic gas studies, 3D wide-azimuth seismic studies as well as drill three prospecting wells. The aim is start production within two years of the start of the project.The PSA competition…
US Considering Sanctions Over Nord Stream 2
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he was considering sanctions over Russia's Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline project -- which the United States has told European companies to avoid -- and warned Germany against being dependent on Russia for the fuel."We're protecting Germany from Russia and Russia is getting billions and billions of dollars from Germany," Trump told reporters at an appearance with Polish President Andrzej Duda at the White House.Nord Stream 2…
Nord Stream 2 Expecting Denmark Approval
The Russian-led Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline company expects to receive approval from Danish authorities for a 180-km stretch of the pipeline under the Baltic Sea in time to finish the pipeline by the end of 2019 as planned, a spokesman said on Monday.Nord Stream 2 spokesman Jens Mueller said there was "good reason" to believe Danish authorities would process a second proposal submitted by the project in August 2018 within eight to 12 months, allowing the pipeline to be finished on schedule.Even if the Danes acted late in the year…
Russian Share of European Gas Growing
With gas supplies growing at a faster rate than domestic demand, Russia can increase pipeline and liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to Europe, said a report.Russia’s gas production has been steadily increasing since the low of 611 Bcm in 2015, and reached 695 Bcm in 2018, according to a report form Rystad Energy, an independent energy research and business intelligence companyMature fields exhibit relatively high decline rates, but volumes from the recent start-ups and discoveries in Yamal, East Siberia and the Far East are expected to offset the decline.
Schlumberger Scraps Bid for Eurasia Drilling Stake
U.S. oilfield services giant Schlumberger has withdrawn its bid for a stake in Russia's Eurasia Drilling Company (EDC) Russia's Federal Anti-monopoly Service (FAS) said on Monday.Schlumberger, which has its own business in Russia, said last month it would withdraw its application to buy a stake in EDC if it didn't get regulatory approvals soon.Schlumberger's office in Moscow had no immediate comment.The U.S. company had planned to acquire up to 49 percent of EDC…
Shell Says Talks Over Gazprom Asset Swap Suspended
Talks about a possible asset swap deal between Royal Dutch Shell and Gazprom have been suspended, Kommersant business daily reported on Wednesday, citing Cederic Cremers, head of Shell's business in Russia.The memorandum on the possible asset swap was signed in 2015 and was seen as a coup for Gazprom at a time when many Western companies were reducing their exposure to Russia because of Western sanctions over Moscow's actions in Ukraine.Cremers also told the newspaper that the plans for the expansion of Sakhalin-2 plant, which produces 11 million tonnes of li
Putin says TurkStream Gas Pipeline Could be Extended via Greece
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that the TurkStream gas pipeline could be extended further into Europe via Greece, as he met Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in Moscow.The first line of TurkStream, which runs from Russia to Turkey via the Black Sea bed, is intended for Turkish consumption only. Russia has said that a second line will also end in Turkey and Europe must choose the route and build the extension itself.Several routes…
Finland Eyes Imports of Piped Gas via Baltics, Poland
Finland could in future receive gas from Norway via a network of pipes being planned through the Baltic countries and Poland, as part of an effort to reduce its dependency on gas imports from Russia.Helsinki and Tallinn are constructing a gas pipeline under the Gulf of Finland to Estonia, called Balticconnector and with a capacity to transport 7.2 million cubic meters of gas per day."The plan is for Finland to get fully connected to the European gas network and access gas from other sources such as ...
U.S. Calls on Hungary and Neighbors to Shun Russian Gas Pipelines
U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry called on Hungary and its neighbours to reject Russian gas pipelines which Washington says are being used to cement Moscow's grip on central and eastern Europe.Energy diversification would be crucial for the region, as Russia has used energy as a weapon in the past, he said."Russia is using a pipeline project Nord stream 2 and a multi-line Turkish stream to try to solidify its control over the security and the stability of Central and eastern Europe…
Gazprom Says Nord Stream Payments Blocked by Swiss Injunction
Gazprom said a Swiss court has issued an injunction blocking payments from the operators of the Nord Stream gas pipeline as part of a legal dispute between the Russian gas producer and Ukraine's Naftogaz.All payments from Nord Stream AG and Nord Stream 2 AG are to be directed to the Swiss bailiffs, Gazprom said in a program for a eurobond issue dated November 9.Gazprom intends to challenge the injunction in court, TASS news agency quoted Viktor Zubkov, the head of Gazprom's board of directors, as saying.Zubkov was quoted as saying he hoped the block would not
Merkel: Germany Will Accelerate Plans to Build LNG Terminal
Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday that Germany would speed up its plans to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal as Europe's largest economy seeks to diversify its energy supply.Merkel also said that Ukraine would remain an important gas transit country once the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is built. Critics of the project say it will deprive Ukraine of lucrative gas transit fees and increase the dominance of Russian gas monopoly Gazprom. (Reporting by Reuters Television Writing by Michelle Martin Editing by Thomas Escritt)
OMV Optimistic Denmark Will Approve Nord Stream 2 Next Year
Austrian energy group OMV , one of the companies that is financing the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, is optimistic Denmark will approve the project next year and the new gas transport route will start operations late 2019, its chief executive said.The pipeline, which will double the gas Russia can pump under the Baltic Sea to Germany, bypassing traditional routes via Ukraine, has been strongly opposed by Poland and the United States. President Donald Trump…
Norway to Spend More Looking for O&G Near Russian Border
Norway plans to step up spending on looking for oil and gas in the northern Barents Sea close to its border with Russia, the country's 2019 budget showed on Monday.The government has proposed to allocate an extra 50 million Norwegian crowns ($6.04 million) to conduct a so-called 3D survey over a large geographical structure that straddles the border with Russia."Knowledge is crucial both for good resource management and for safeguarding national economic interests…
Nordstream 2 Important for Europe -German Energy Minister
The Nordstream 2 pipeline is important to secure energy supplies and Russia is a safe and reliable provider of gas for Germany, Thomas Bareiss, German state secretary for energy, said at a conference in London on Monday.The Nordstream 2 pipeline will allow Russia to bypass Ukraine in transporting gas to Europe. Gas is due to start flowing at the end of 2019.The pipeline has drawn criticism from the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump has said…
Russia sees hard-to-recover oil output rising 10 percent in 2018
Production of hard-to-recover oil in Russia is expected to rise by 10 percent to 43 million tonnes (860,000 barrels per day) this year, boosted by tax incentives, Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin said in an interview.He also said the government had no immediate plan to reduce oil exports in order to curb an increase in domestic fuel prices.Russia is pinning its hopes on hard-to-recover oil, hidden beneath non-porous rocks, as conventional oil reserves in West Siberia, its main oil-producing region, are becoming increasingly depleted.As part of Wes
Lukoil Gets Approval for LPG Supplies to Ukraine
Russia's No.2 oil producer Lukoil has obtained approval from a Russian export control regulator on supplies of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) such as propane and butane to Ukraine, traders said on Friday.LPG and diesel were listed as goods of dual purposes, meaning they can be used both for civil and military aims, amid Moscow's tensions with Ukraine.Only Kremlin-controlled Rosneft has the rights to export LPG to Ukraine, to the tune of around 40,000 tonnes per month.
Swedish Court Revokes Suspension of Gazprom vs Naftogaz Ruling
A Swedish appeals court said on Thursday it had revoked a previous suspension of an arbitration ruling that blocked attempts by Ukraine's Naftogaz to seize Gazprom's foreign assets in a long-running dispute over gas contracts.Reporting by Olof Swahnberg
Environmentalists File Second Complaint to Block Nord Stream 2
Environmental campaign group ClientEarth has filed a complaint with a court in Sweden to block the construction through Swedish waters of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline intended to transport Russian gas to Germany, it said on Wednesday.Sweden approved the pipeline in June, but ClientEarth's complaint argues that the Swedish Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation failed to consider the impact the project would have on wildlife in the Baltic Sea.The work…
Nord Stream 2 Pipeline on Track Despite Sanctions Risk, Operator Says
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline to transport Russian gas to Germany is progressing on schedule, its operator said on Friday, with European investors still committed to the project despite criticism from the United States and the threat of sanctions.In July, Washington repeated a warning to Western firms invested in the pipeline that they were at risk of sanctions, saying Moscow was using the project to divide Europe.Berlin and Moscow have been at odds since Russia annexed Crimea four years ago, but they have a common interest in the Nord Stream 2 project.
