... considerable part of its gas transit via Ukraine — this has been one of the key demands to support the project. The European Union has never invited the U.S. to protect them from the NS2, though there was a heated debate inside the EU. Apparently, sanctions emerge as an instrument of towering market competition for the European gas market. Donald Trump has repeatedly and explicitly voiced his ambitions to promote a more expensive American LNG to Europe and knock out Russians from the market. However, this theory does not explain why Trump had not sanctioned NS2 himself before....
... the time of signing the documents, Rosneft was not under sanctions prohibiting the activity under the documents signed by the companies (most of them memorialized the extension of pre-existing agreements, for example, on joint projects in the Arctic and related to natural gas development in the Russian Far East). At the same time, the sanctions were applied to Igor Sechin’s assets and activity only in his individual capacity [
8
, p. 2], so his activity as the CEO of Rosneft, ExxonMobil thinks, is not covered by the sanctions since the inclusion of a person in ...
... pipelaying ships from the Swiss company Allseas, with the procedure itself to be carried out by three ships in 2018–2019.
It is still unclear whether or not Allseas will pull out of the contract in light of the U.S. ban. In any case, the American sanctions against Nord Stream 2 will be a blow not only to Russia, but (and perhaps more importantly) to Europe itself. After all, it is becoming increasingly obvious that the United States it attempting to block the flow of Russian gas in Ukraine, and then reduce it, which will harm European economies. The history of the first gas contracts between Europe and the USSR demonstrates that it is possible to overcome pressure from the United States. Let us hope that
this happens more ...
... though with obviously less success.
Perhaps the main innovation of the trilateral negotiations was the project to
create a gas corridor
from Russia to Iran through the territory of Azerbaijan. It is difficult to call this result a breakthrough, but ... ... can be regarded as Moscow's response to Washington's threats against Iran.
The feeling that Iran and Russia are in the same sanctions boat
appeared
in 2014 after the accession of the Crimea. As the U.S. pressure increased, the consolidation of the sides ...
... nuclear deal are so perilous and destructive. Not only does it perturb the investors, but it also strengthens the positions of the Iranian conservatives right before the election. The previous time conservatives came to power – in 2005 – the oil and gas sector of Iran entered a new period of degradation caused by the imposed sanctions and an unprecedented increase in the administrative body of the ministry of oil, which
incorporated
literally thousands of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard members (close to the president M. Ahmadinejad). If the current reformist cabinet spearheaded ...
... of access to shelf deposits, as most of the blocks are already split between them and Gazprom. However, it might be difficult to reach a consensus with the Russian leadership in the case that the USA strengthens sanctions against the Russian oil and gas sector.
What Will the New Sanctions Lead to?
Pavel Sharikov:
How to Make Russia-U.S. Relations Great Again?
The adoption of the new anti-Russian sanctions will definitely complicate the life of the above mentioned foreign partners, and might worsen relations with the USA, China,...
... attempted to convince European leaders not to accept any further natural gas supplies from the USSR (sounds familiar 1,2,3). The failure to convince his European partners left the Reagan Administration with the only remaining option – to impose sanctions on gas compressor station elements, that were produced in the US. This eventually led to a major political crisis and the sanctions were removed several months later. The Urengoy pipeline constructions continued and as a result of the previously imposed ...
... Germany for the first quarter of 2016, when compared to 2015 Q1 delivered quantities. The implications of this have echoed far across the Atlantic Ocean and have once again affirmed the fears of Washington – intensification of the German-Russian gas interdependence is a fact, which few Western leaders are willing to admit.
Cooperation Amid Sanctions
Germany is highly dependent on coal as a course of cheap energy, however, coal scores very high on the greenhouse gas index and is thus not a preferable source, ecologically speaking. Diminishing coal use is an ongoing trend since the first ...
... number of situations, most notably in Syria, with profound if indirect effects on European order and solidarity.
Second, Russia is an important global energy provider.
Russia holds
6.87% of the world’s proven oil reserves and 17.4% of its proven gas reserves, and is the fourth largest carbon emitter. It is the world’s largest exporter of natural gas, and the second largest producer of oil. All this makes Russia vital for the world’s energy security, and of course its efforts to tackle ...
... plans to develop the Arctic shelf (to reach annual production levels of 65 million tonnes of oil and 230 billion cubic metres of natural gas by 2030), which could require investments of more than $1 trillion, are significantly hampered by the economic sanctions.
Conclusion
The continental shelf plays an important role in sustaining global oil and gas production. Over the past ten years, more than two-thirds of the world’s hydrocarbon reserves have been discovered on the continental shelf.
All the Arctic states have passed legislation securing the strategic importance of the area, primarily ...
