... Headquarter in Moscow. Behind, the Kremlin.
Despite the sanctions issued by the United States and the European Union against russian politicians and businessmen and despite the neverending discussion about the need for diversification in the european energy market, many western oil companies are acting just the opposite of how expected.
from the left: Bp CEO Bob Dudley, Vladimir Putin, Igor Sechin in St Petersburg
One of the latest stories on the news was the billion-dollars contract signed by ...
The views in this blog are, of course, solely the author's own, and do not represent the official views of either the U of Michigan, Ann Arbor, or its Energy Institute, of which the author has been a Fellow since 2008 or so. I have been following the world energy industry, and the oil industry in particular, on a daily basis, ever since my MBA thesis on the evolution of Oil Tanker Shipping at the Sloan ...
... natural resources’ secondary role were somewhat hasty. There is every reason to believe that in the 21st century their role in the world economy and international political processes will only increase. This is due to structural changes in the energy markets, growing scarcity of certain types of renewable resources, and worsening environmental problems.
Breakthroughs in the production of new types of hydrocarbons (from tar sands to shale gas) and the rapid development of renewable energy technologies ...
... confrontation.
A softer line was endorsed by Martin Schulz. Despite arguing that sanctions have been the right choice so far, the socialist candidate called for more diplomatic efforts to solve the crisis. Schulz, a german, is more careful on the energy issue and the economic partnership with Russia, vital for his country and many others like Italy, currently lead by democratic prime minister and Schulz-backing Matteo Renzi. “Tough sanctions mean we should tell our citizens: higher gas prices,...
... experts' comments
The crisis in Ukraine definitively marks a new stage in Russia-EU relations. What type of changes in the approaches of key EU countries towards Russia are on the horizon as well as what are the prospects for further developing the energy dialogue between Moscow and Brussels? We discussed the situation with Elena Ananyeva, Head of Center for British Studies at RAS Institute for European Studies and a member of the Editorial Board of the International Affairs magazine; Igor Kovalyov,...
Syria’s Transit Future
Syria has always played an important role in the development of Middle East transport corridors, and the country has long held a particularly special place in the transit of energy resources.
Due to the mass protests that began in Syria in March 2011, and escalated into civil war, the country no longer occupies the position of a regional transportation center. This has a negative impact on trade in the region and the development ...
Impact of the Economic Crisis
Despite impressive technological progress, renewable energy remains largely uncompetitive with conventional energy sources. The reason for the rapid development of renewable energy in the European Union has been primarily large-scale government support. During the economic crisis, these subsidies have become ...
... 1970s-1980s, Western Europe needed Soviet hydrocarbons for two main reasons: 1) they formed the economic component of detente (trade, instead of war), and 2) were seen as an alternative to the Middle East, which was then the most unstable region in terms of energy geopolitics (“oil shocks” and so forth). In the 1990s and early 2000s, Europe closed its eyes to its energy dependence on Russia, expecting the country to become a kind of second Norway, i.e. a politically neutral energy resource base ...
... Ruehl, Group Chief Economist and Vice President of BP, this time around the multinational oil supermajor aimed to “shake-up the crystal ball” by recalibrating some of its old formulas in the bid to provide a fresh outlook on the way global energy markets will evolve. In this post Casing Point explores to what results this recalibration leads and what is in store for us in the world of energy; at the end should we anticipate major shifts or expect much of the same as in the last several ...
... mining of uranium through a contractual relationship with the French state-owned company Areva.
World annual production of U3O8 for now is growing but the market is considered “slow.” As a result spot uranium prices do not impact the broad energy market like spot oil prices do. But the market remains a target of opportunity for “pump and dump” specialists, and for speculators and arbitragers seeking to control, or otherwise stockpile inventory.
Last year, according to the ...
