Growing Dependent On Russia: The Gas Routes In Europe - FORBES

Dec 12, 2018, 12:05pm
Annalisa Girardi

This year Italy has become the second largest buyer of Russian natural gas, outdoing Turkey. Rome and Moscow historically have had close commercial ties within the energy sector, being Eni, an oil and gas Italian company and one of the largest multinationals in the sector, the first Western business to become a commercial partner to the Kremlin. This year Italy has become Russia’s second market, buying 18,3 billion cubic meters gas, against the 17,9 billion cubic meters acquired by Ankara. According to Bloomberg, Germany remains far in its first place, with 42,7 billion cubic meters gas purchased from Siberian gas fields.

Russian gas is a precious resource for Italy since it provides more than one-third of its total domestic demand. Natural gas originated in Russia reaches Italy mainly through the Trans Austria Gas (TAG) pipeline, a 380 kilometers duct hold at 89% by Eni. At this moment, 40% of national requirements are met by Gazprom, the Russian business that is also a major oil and gas companies worldwide, as well as being state-owned at 50%. The rest of Italian energy needs are mainly covered at 25% by Algeria and at 6% by Libya, while the country imports from Qatar the majority of liquefied natural gas which is later processed at the regasification plants.

TurkStream: Who profits, who loses out? - DW

19.Nov.2018

Nik Martin

As Turkey and Russia inaugurate the sea section of the TurkStream gas pipeline, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan can boast of Ankara's new geopolitical influence. DW asks why the pipeline is causing such a fuss.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday marked the completion of the offshore phase of TurkStream, a natural gas pipeline connecting the two countries.

Erdogan told reporters TurkStream would be ready to operate in 2019 after tests are carried out, while Putin said the pipeline would make Turkey a "major European hub." The tie-up with Moscow would "without a doubt influence the geopolitical standing of the Turkish Republic."

The new energy cooperation comes despite Moscow severing ties with Ankara three years ago after a Turkish fighter jet shot down a Russian warplane on the Syrian border.

Geopolitical factors to restrict ELPE tender participation - ENERGY PRESS

18/04/2018

Geopolitical factors constraining the range of participants in order to safeguard matters such as national and regional security will inevitably be incorporated into the terms of an international tender offering 50.1 percent of ELPE (Hellenic Petroleum), expected to be announced by TAIPED, the state privatization fund, any day now, possibly even today.

Though the terms to be applied to the ELPE tender remain unclear, Russian, Iranian and Chinese players, for example, stand little chance of emerging as candidates, given the current geopolitical climate in the southeast Meditteranean, polarized by US-Russian tension.

Also, European powers such as Germany, France and Italy have been requesting increasingly strict measures from Brussels for protection of strategically important European enterprises against Chinese acquisitions. ELPE belongs to this category.

Germany’s DEA eyes boosting investment in Egypt - EGYPT TODAY

Wed, Jan. 10, 2018

CAIRO – 10 January 2018: Germany’s DEA Group planned to pump more investments in Gulf of Suez and Disouq regions in Egypt, CEO of the group Maria Moraeus Hanssen said Wednesday.

In a meeting with Minister of Petroleum Tarek El-Molla, Hanssen stated that Egypt is now an attractive investment destination especially after latest gas production from new fields, such as Zohr giant field and North Alexandria concession.

BASF agrees oil unit merger with Fridman's DEA to spur expansion - REUTERS

DECEMBER 7, 2017 / 9:13 PM

Dmitry Zhdannikov, Ron Bousso, Ludwig Burger

FRANKFURT/LONDON (Reuters) - Chemical giant BASF agreed to merge its oil and gas unit Wintershall with DEA, a vehicle of Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman, to create one of the largest independent oil and gas firms in Europe, the companies said.

Fridman and his partners in the LetterOne investment vehicle made billions by selling their Russian oil empire in 2013 but have since struggled to expand in the United States and Britain due to sanctions imposed on Moscow despite not being under sanctions themselves.

By folding DEA into Wintershall and creating Germany’s first oil champion, cash-rich Fridman could create new opportunities for growth in large Western markets.

Construction of Russia’s gas pipeline to Turkey going full steam ahead - RUSSIA TODAY

31 Aug, 2017 13:18

Gazprom said on Thursday 220 kilometers of the gas pipeline to Turkey has been laid under the Black Sea.

“The sea part of the project has seen 220 kilometers of two lines of pipes being laid,” said Gazprom CEO Aleksey Miller.

The Turkish Stream or TurkStream pipeline has been under construction since May this year. The pipeline will go from Russia’s Black Sea coast beneath the sea to Turkey, and extend to the border with Greece.

It will see two lines; the first will be for the Turkish market, the second for gas to the countries of South and South-Eastern Europe. Each line has a capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters per year.

The Golden Age of Natural Gas - THE AMERICAN INTEREST

August 18, 2017
Jamie Horgan & Agnia Grigas

Thanks to the American shale boom and a newly globalized market, natural gas is changing geopolitics around the globe.

Jamie Horgan: I’m here with Agnia Grigas, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and author of the new book, The New Geopolitics of Natural Gas. Agnia, thanks for taking the time to talk with me today.

Agnia Grigas: Thank you, Jamie. It’s a pleasure to be here.

JH: In your book, you look at the transition to a new era of gas that you characterize as “a golden age.” What were the characteristics of the old era of gas, and what’s changed?

AG: Throughout the 20th century, natural gas was a much more localized commodity than oil, due to the difficulties of transporting it over long distances and across seas and oceans. It was also a much more politicized commodity, precisely because it was so difficult to transport. Oftentimes, gas-exporting and gas-importing countries had to forge long-lasting trade relationships with each other, co-investing in land-based infrastructure.

But within the past decade, things have changed. First, trade in LNG (liquefied natural gas) has grown, because it is easy to transport across the sea—and it’s now at its highest level in history. Second, the market has become much more liquid, largely due to the U.S. shale revolution flooding it with supplies. In addition, American exporters support flexible gas trade, which means more spot and short-term trading rather than the traditional long-term, oil-linked contracts.

The changing face of the Israel Navy - JERUSALEM POST

An Israeli warship arrives at an Israeli navy base in the Red Sea resort city of Eilat July 15, 2009. (REUTERS)

August 17, 2017 03:43 Anna Ahronheim

Expansion of an exclusive economic zone presents challenge to the small Israeli naval fleet.

Some 30 meters underground in the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv sits the Navy War Room, whence senior officers can see every wave crashing on the nation’s shores and every ship and plane in or over its territorial waters.

The Israel Navy is small compared to other IDF corps, and it has a large territory to protect since the expansion of the country’s Mediterranean exclusive economic zone (EEZ) from 40 miles to 150 miles four years ago, a senior naval officer said on Tuesday.

Russian gas pipelines to go ahead despite U.S. sanctions - REUTERS

AUGUST 3, 2017 / 1:11 PM
Oksana Kobzeva, Alissa de Carbonnel

MOSCOW/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - New U.S. sanctions will make it harder for Russia to build two gas export pipelines to Europe but the projects are unlikely to be stopped.

U.S. President Donald Trump has reluctantly signed into law further sanctions on Russia but some of the measures are discretionary and most White House watchers believe he will not take action against Russia's energy infrastructure.

This would allow Gazprom's two big pipeline projects to go ahead, although at a higher price and with some delays.

The Kremlin, dependent on oil and gas revenues, sees the pipelines to Germany and Turkey - Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream - as crucial to increasing its market share in Europe.

It also fears that Western partners - needed to develop the deepwater, shale and Arctic gas deposits that will fill the pipelines - will be scared off by sanctions.

Gazprom starts TurkStream 2 natural gas pipeline preparations - PLATTS

London (Platts)--20 Jul 2017 1106 am EDT/1506 GMT

Stuart Elliott, Rosemary Griffin, Siobhan Hall

Russia's Gazprom has begun carrying out preparations for the laying of the second string of the two-line TurkStream natural gas pipeline to Turkey, a company spokesman said Wednesday, but he denied a report in a Russian newspaper that pipe-laying in the Black Sea for the second string had started.

TurkStream -- whose two lines will each have a capacity of 15.75 Bcm/year -- is designed to supply the Turkish domestic market and markets in southeast Europe, bypassing the traditional transit route via Ukraine.

Libya's Oil Output Rises To 885,000 Bpd Following Wintershall Deal - RIGZONE / REUTERS

Monday, June 19, 2017Ahmad Ghaddar, Editing by Jason Neely

LONDON, June 19 (Reuters) - Libya's oil production has risen by over 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 885,000 bpd after the state oil firm settled a dispute with Germany's Wintershall that had slashed production by some 160,000 bpd, a Libyan oil source told Reuters on Monday.

Last week, the National Oil Corp said it expected OPEC member Libya's production to recover to 900,000 bpd in the short term.

The NOC and Wintershall reached an interim agreement last week on an upstream contract dispute that began earlier this year.

Russia's Rosneft says eyes joint oil supplies to Egypt with Italy's Eni - ZAWYA / REUTERS

SOCHI, Russia, May 17 (Reuters)

Reporting by Olesya Astakhova in Moscow and Denis Pinchuk in Sochi; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Jack Stubbs

Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft and Italian energy company Eni have signed an agreement to broaden cooperation, including in possible joint oil product supplies to Egypt, Rosneft said on Wednesday.

The deal was signed as part of Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni's visit to Russia, during which he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Shalakany advises Engie on E&P asset sale in Egypt - ENTERPRISE / SHALAKANY LAW

Monday, 15 May 2017

M&A Watch- Shalakany Law announced it assisted Engie as the sole sell side legal advisor in the transaction to sell its Egyptian E&P assets to Neptune Oil & Gas. Private equity-backed Neptune had agreed to acquire a majority stake in Engie’s E&P assets globally for USD 3.9 bn on Thursday, Reuters reported, with the expectation that the deal, which includes assets in Egypt, Algeria, Germany, and the North Sea will close in 1Q2018.

Aly El Shalakany, the lead partner from Shalakany acting on the transaction, said: “We are very pleased to have successfully assisted Engie, a long standing client of the firm, with this strategic disposal, which marks a key step in its shift away from oil and gas to more regulated businesses in the power sector.”

Greece to carve out slice of energy pie - KATHIMERINI

Energy heads (L to R) of Cyprus, Italy, Israel, Greece & the EU

06.04.2017 : 09:10
Vassilis Nedos

The deal signed on Monday between Greece, Israel, Cyprus and Italy in Tel Aviv for the creation of the Eastern Mediterranean (EastMed) gas pipeline, is, according to sources, a reaction to the competing Nord Stream II pipeline connecting Germany and Russia.

EU Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete, who was present at the signing, denigrated Nord Stream II, saying it “adds nothing to the [EU’s] security of supply.”

Rosneft takes key step in push into Middle East - FINANCIAL TIMES

APRIL 3, 2017
Henry Foy in Moscow and David Sheppard in Lausanne; Add'l reporting by Anjli Raval

Russian oil group to expand trading after trumpeting agreements in Egypt and Libya

Russia’s Rosneft will this week take custody of its first independently sourced cargo of Kurdish crude oil from Turkey’s port of Ceyhan, a key step in its strategic push into Middle East energy markets and its attempts to expand trading.

The world’s largest listed oil company by output has spent the past four months trumpeting agreements to buy oil from Egypt, Libya and Iraqi Kurdistan, drilling exploration wells in southern Iraq and considering opportunities in Lebanon, as it chases deals to fuel its fledgling international expansion.

Rosneft and Russia's Evolving Oil Strategy Explained - THE DIPLOMAT

March 10, 2017
Nicholas Trickett

Russia’s recent deals in the Middle East aren’t just about expanding its influence, they’re part of a larger strategy.

Rosneft is deploying its preferred long-term prepayment model to political effect in Kurdistan and Libya, distributing risks between producers and consumers and taking advantage of its access to state money. That model has also earned it closer ties to trading houses like Glencore and Trafigura. The firm applied the same approach to securing a customer for its Venezuelan production—another risky market—in India with its acquisition of Essar Oil.

Israel Navy gearing up for its latest mission – protecting Mediterranean gas rigs - HAARETZ

March 09, 2017
Gili Cohen 

It will take two and half years for custom-designed missile boats being built in Germany to arrive. Until then, the navy is not resting on its laurels regarding this strategic economic asset.

For the sailors serving on the Israel Navy’s missile corvettes, the latest revelations concerning the bid for purchasing drilling rig-protecting boats, associated with the procurement of new submarines, have brought about a surprising turn of events. The combat mission of these seamen, which usually remains secretive and submerged, has become an open topic of conversation.

Egypt's Sisi and Germany's Merkel to inaugurate megaproject in Egypt - AHRAM ONLINE

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) and Egyptian President Abdel
Fattah El-Sisi (R) in Berlin, May 2015 (Reuters)

Thursday 2 Mar 2017
Mahmoud Aziz

The two leaders will inaugurate the first phase of a Siemens project to build three new power plants in Egypt

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to arrive in Cairo Thursday on a two-day visit to meet with Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, and to inaugurate with her counterpart the first phase of a Siemens megaproject.

The two leaders are scheduled to hold a press conference shortly after their meeting.

Sisi and Merkel will inaugurate the first phase of a project, run by the German company Siemens, to build three new power plants in Egypt.

Russian gas flows to Europe, Turkey surge 25% on year in H1 Jan - PLATTS

London (Platts)--17 Jan 2017 931 am EST/1431 GMTStuart Elliott, Edited by Alisdair Bowles

Russian gas flows to Europe and Turkey were already 25.5% higher year on year in the first 15 days of January, according to the latest Gazprom data, having hit an all-time high daily level on January 8.

The continued high flows in 2017 -- following record-breaking volumes last year -- come as cold weather across Europe, especially in the east, triggers increased demand for Gazprom gas.

Russian gas prices also remain competitive compared with European hubs -- the oil price rally of end-2016 will only filter through to oil-indexed gas contracts in the coming months -- so European buyers are thought to be maxing out their Russian gas purchases.

In a statement Monday, Gazprom said gas flows to what it calls the Far Abroad -- Europe and Turkey but not the ex-Soviet states -- were 25.5% higher than in the same period of 2016.

Israel's Navy Sub Scandal Widens; Iranian Ties And Deal-Making Questioned - FORBES

The German-made INS Rahav, the fifth Israeli Navy submarine, arrives at the military
port of Haifa on January 12, 2016. In September 2015, Israel received delivery of the
fourth Dolphin 2 class submarines from Germany. A third of the cost was funded by
Germany as part of its military aid to Israel. The submarines, the most sophisticated in
Israel's fleet, can be equipped with missiles armed with nuclear warheads.
(Photo JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

DEC 2, 2016 @ 11:05 PM
Tim Daiss

In a convoluted development intersecting the energy sector and Middle Eastern geopolitics, media in Israel is reporting that Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has ordered a police probe into allegations that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s personal lawyer, David Shimron, used his close relationship with the Israeli leader to influence him to award a $1 billion contract to build three navy submarines to ThyssenKrupp, a German multinational conglomerate with a 4.5% ownership stake held by the Iranian government.

The subs will be used to protect Israel’s massive offshore natural gas field in the Mediterranean. According to a report on Friday in The Times of Israel, Shimron was a representative of the company in Israel. The inquiry will also focus on a separate 2014 Defense Ministry tender for navy ships, also involving ThyssenKrupp.