... breeze of economic prosperity across Asia, South America and even Africa, the global energy balance is tipping, particularly as the new economic frontiers are moving at... ... extravagantly this year by losing 26 places and ending up 57th due to the quickly changing European market. To add salt to the wound, Gazprom is now sandwiched between Walt Disney... ... developing part of the globe where figures will roughly triple from the current level. China will lead the way with the number of cars per 1000 people rising from only 40...
... Pirani's recent work), Central Asia has completely moved towards the Chinese market and we ought to blame the squabbling between the EU and Russia over gas matters, as whilst these were ongoing the gas/oil potential of Central Asia was lured towards China. As we are currently seeing the infrastructure is being reversed away from Europe to Asia, yet again underlining that EU's actions were once again detrimental to its energy security with an additional cost of diminished relations with Russia.
Russia's Uncertain Footing and China's Roar:
As Mitrova highlights, Russia must not be delusional about its own role in the great power's game,...
... security, shale revolution and domestic challenges will be discussed. In this post I am joined by the Head of Oil and Gas at the Energy Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Dr. Tatiana Mitrova. This is the first of two posts from this special ... ... worry about plagiarism, I hope to share some of the findings and research conducted. In this first post of two-part special, a Europe-Russia focused question and answer session is outlined with Dr. Tatiana Mitrova, whereas in the subsequent second post, coming later, we look at China-Russia.
Europe-Russia ‘Special Deal Severed’:
In normal day-to-day life Europe has a stable and diversified ...
... Fukuyama predicted in The End of History), we are seeing the rise of old empires and new elites who in the case of Russia (and China) combine elements of bureaucratic capitalism with aspects of authoritarian plutocracy. That is why critical engagement at ... ... of civil society actors and experts – like the Russian International Affairs Council – is so crucial.
Is Europe undermining its own energy security by attempting to diversify away from Russia?
That’s absolutely right. Amid the anarchy of the Arab Spring,...
... outstanding oil debts, go into the territory of poor relations; which will aggravate Moscow. Gas wise, China again acts as a hard client as experts believe that it links gas to coal prices, which differ a lot, particularly when Russia aims to receive European type sums. Mareš and Laryš argue that China’s gas market is a questionable venture, as it is traditionally orientated towards coal with gas only account for 3% of the energy mix. China has begun to move towards natural gas only 10 years ago. It is estimated that the overall total will rise to around 10% by 2020, but with increasing competition and Beijing’s strategy of diversifying imports as much as possible,...
... Gazprom, issued a statement that a deal is due to be finalised in June (See: InterfaxEnergy). The gas deal is for 38 bcm of gas, which is less than anticipated 68 bcm and vitally price was not set, which is obviously a serious concern (See: InterFax Energy). Additionally, Russia was unable to play-off Europe against China, due to the latters pressure. Russia hoped to supply both markets with its European gas fields, thus making its customers compete against each other (See: Reuters). However, on the brightside Gazprom agreed with China in regards to long-term contracts,...
... that US pushes, politically as well as economically, for energy independence, albeit some questions remain about the possibility of exporting shale - as many in the US argue it should be aimed predominantly at the home market.
Non-US Shale Progress (Europe and Asia):
China is eager to jump on the Shale Revolution and aims to produce 100 billion cubic meters by 2015. Firms like Shell, Chevron, Chesapeake Energy and Devon already participate in Asia through joint partnerships – as China’s command economy forbids free market interaction. However, as Wood Mackenzie analysts in The New Times article point out, such target is unrealistic as China ...
... some years in Central Asia, in particularly in Tajikistan, due to the civil war there and the fact that Russia was acting as a peacekeeping force. So its overall military interest is to continuously have a foothold in the region. However, the role of China in the region, the American war in Afghanistan since 2001 and the European Union which has been gaining an interest there since 2006-2007 in an attempt to exploit Central Asia’s need to diversify its energy exports – have impacted upon Russia’s position. Moreover, the E.U. in particular wants access to Turkmen gas and Kazakh oil and gas, as a way to diversify its energy imports and rely less on Russia.
However, the Central Asian states ...
... some may have felt, but in today’s world things change quickly making one ponder – what must be done to stop any changes, how to adapt to them if they occur and what if sceptics are right?
«Oil and Gas Dialogue: Russian Gas in the European Market» Joint International Forum held at IMEMO RAN conference hall on 7th December 2012; moderated by Ivanova N. I., RAN Academic and Associate Director of IMEMO RAN, and Eric Dam, General Director of Energy Delta Institute.
Optimism Remains Thin in the Air:
As the world continues to scuffle against the most severe economic crisis, optimism remains thin in the air, conceivably as uncertainty is easier to sell. The IMEMO RAN forum was no different,...
... not changed in the last decade. The decision must be well calculated, yet quick, as USA has almost achieved independence from energy imports due to shale which could supply North America, Australian shale could supply Asia, Israel has off-shore shale potential, Middle East could make a stable return to supply Europe and if China gets the technological means it may mine its shale reserves which are the biggest in the world. Realistically, Russia cannot ...
