Nord Stream 2 Gas Pipeline to Improve European Energy Security - Moscow - SPUTNIK NEWS

30.JUNE.2018, 11:19 

Sergey Guneev

VIENNA (Sputnik) - The European Union realizes that Russia is the guarantor of the European energy security, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told Sputnik commenting on the US calls to abandon the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project.

"I think that everyone in Europe realizes that Russia is the guarantor of continent's energy security. And if we talk about US ambitions to ensure this security, the current US share in the European gas market is about only two percent," Grushko said in an interview.

The energy cooperation requires maximum depoliticization and should be based on economic interests, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told Sputnik.

"We have always assumed that the energy cooperation should be based on economic factors. It is necessary to achieve maximum depoliticization of such cooperation, to eliminate the influence of any geopolitical factors," Grushko noted.

The construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will improve the European energy security, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister stated.

New Players Enter The European Gas Game - OIL PRICE

Jun 10, 2018, 12:00 PM CDT
Vanand Meliksetian

The expansion of the European Union in 2004 and 2007 indirectly led to several crises at a level not seen since the oil embargo of 1973. The accession of several former Warschau pact countries introduced an extra dimension to European politics: Russia. Due to historical reasons some of these countries have a high dependency concerning hydrocarbons on their large eastern neighbour. Several serious disputes concerning supply, pricing, and debt between Moscow and Kiev from 2005 until 2009 led to disruptions in supply to EU member states. These conflicts highlighted the need for reduced dependency on Russia.

During this period the search for alternative sources was already on its way, but the shutdown of gas supplies as a consequence of these disputes accelerated the process. The completion of two LNG liquefication plants in Poland and Lithuania has decreased the dependency of this region on Russia. The south-eastern flank of the EU, however, is in a direr state. In order to alleviate dependency, the European Commission obstructed construction of the South Stream pipeline from Russia through the Black Sea to Bulgaria.

EU-Gazprom deal clears Bulgaria of South Stream cancellation claims - EURACTIV.com

The (now terminated) South Stream pipeline

13 March 2017

Georgi Gotev

The Commission published Gazprom’s commitments on Monday (13 March) to end a five-year antitrust case and avoid fines heavy fines. As part of the package, Gazprom agreed not to seek any damages from its Bulgarian partners following the termination of South Stream.

In what appears to be a huge deal reached behind closed doors, the Commission agreed with the Russian gas export monopoly to remove restrictions for EU countries from Southern and Eastern Europe to re-sell Russian gas across borders. Until now, bilateral contracts didn’t allow such trade, and in the case of Bulgaria, the implementation of the gas interconnector with Greece was hampered by certain provisions of the Gazprom contracts with both countries.

EC reports Gazprom commitments on supplying gas to eastern Europe - OIL & GAS JOURNAL

WASHINGTON D.C., 03/13/2017

Nick Snow, OGJ Washington Editor

Russian natural gas giant Gazprom has made significant commitments to supply gas to customers in eastern and central Europe at competitive prices, the European Commission reported in Brussels.

The commitments “address our competition concerns and provide a forward-looking solution in line with [European Union] rules. In fact, they help to better integrate gas markets in the region,” EC Competition Policy Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said.

In April 2015, the commission sent a Statement of Objections expressing its preliminary view that Gazprom had been breaking EU antitrust rules by pursuing an overall strategy to partition central and eastern European gas markets.

Vestager said the commission now feels that the commitments Gazprom offered cover the EC’s competition concerns by ensuring that:

EU's Move to Kill South Stream Cost Southeastern Europe Future Energy Security - SPUTNIK NEWS

28.02.201, updated 10:16

The countries of Southeastern Europe saw their future access to energy imperiled when EU bureaucrats decided to block the South Stream project, Srbijagas CEO Dusan Bajatovic told Sputnik Serbia; he stressed the importance of the Balkan region obtaining access to Russian gas via the Turkish Stream gas pipeline.

In an interview with Sputnik Serbia, Srbijagas chief executive Dusan Bajatovic said that EU bureaucrats' decision to block the South Stream project had cost Southeastern Europe its future access to energy.

He also underscored the significance of the Russian gas reaching the Balkan region via the Turkish Stream gas pipeline.

Gazprom Waiting for EC Proposal on Gas Transit Via Turkish Stream - SPUTNIK NEWS

20:14 02.11.2016

Deputy Chairman of the Management Committee of Gazprom said that Russian energy giant has still not received any official proposal from the European Commission on gas transit to Europe via the Turkish Stream pipeline. 

Russian energy giant Gazprom has still not received any official proposal from the European Commission on gas transit to Europe via the Turkish Stream pipeline, Deputy Chairman of the Management Committee of Gazprom Alexander Medvedev said Wednesday. 

“The European Commission, together with its member states should choose where gas should go from. We are ready to supply this gas, including through Turkey. From the European Commission's side, we have not received any official proposals so far,” Medvedev told Rossiya-24 TV channel. 

Russia needs EU guarantees to extend Turkish Stream to Europe - RUSSIA TODAY

Published time: 25 Oct, 2016 14:30

Moscow has become more wary about doing gas deals with Brussels after the EU blocked Russia's South Stream pipeline, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"After the failure of South Stream, we will be ready to extend Turkish Stream to the territory of the European Union only after we received an unambiguous formal paper that guarantees the implementation of this project," Lavrov said on Tuesday, speaking to European businessmen in Moscow.

Lavrov stressed that, according to experts, "in the foreseeable future it will be very difficult for EU countries to live without Russian energy resources.”

An agreement to build the Turkish Stream pipeline was reached in December 2014. It was assumed the pipeline would replace South Stream that had been blocked by the EU.