Posts under ‘Russia’

(Shell may have to write off Nord Stream 2 investment if project collapses)

Merkel Scrapping Nord Stream Would Unravel German Gas Strategy

(Bloomberg) — As Angela Merkel weighs up the arguments for scrapping a Russian pipeline project, a cornerstone of the German chancellor’s carefully crafted energy strategy is at stake.

Merkel is coming under increasing pressure to ditch the Nord Stream 2 pipeline after the poisoning of Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny. Members of her own party have questioned the project and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said the decision should be a “no brainer.” read more

Navalny Poisoning Raises Pressure on Merkel to Cancel Russian Pipeline

Evidence that the Russian opposition leader was attacked with a military-grade nerve agent has placed new pressures on the German chancellor.

By Steven Erlanger and Melissa Eddy: Published Sept. 3, 2020 Updated Sept. 4, 2020, 1:34 a.m. ET 

BRUSSELS — Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany has long defended her decision to go ahead with an $11 billion Russian gas pipeline, sticking to her position that politics and business should remain separate.

But that approach came under intense pressure Thursday, with a Russian dissident in a German hospital, poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent that is held closely by the Russian military. Even some members of her own party insisted that the chancellor should respond by canceling the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.

The 764-mile pair of pipelines under the Baltic Sea is being built by a consortium led by the Russian energy giant Gazprom, which owns it, and would double the capacity for natural gas to flow directly from Russia to Germany. It has been criticized by many in Europe and the United States for increasing Russian leverage on Germany and helping to line the pockets of the Russian state.

But the pipeline is 94 percent completed, and Ms. Merkel defended the need to finish it as recently as last Friday. At that point, Aleksei A. Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, was already in Berlin for treatment of a poisoning in Russia, although the use of the nerve agent, Novichok, had not yet been publicly confirmed.

But with the identification of Novichok as the poison, the debate on the pipeline has now been reopened.

For a long time, Ms. Merkel has advocated trade and diplomatic engagement with both Russia and China despite their internal repressions and external aggressiveness. Her argument has been that Russia is too close to Europe, and China too economically powerful, to isolate either of them, and that trade provides leverage on them that sanctions do not.

It is getting harder for her to have it both ways. German foreign policy has been notably more assertive to Russia after the country seized Crimea and shot down a Malaysian airliner, and to China after its increasing boldness and repression at home and abroad under its leader, Xi Jinping.

And so Nord Stream 2, originally promoted by her coalition partners, the Social Democrats, is becoming harder to defend, given that its owner, Gazprom, is controlled by the Kremlin of President Vladimir V. Putin. More Germans are asking how she — and many other European leaders — can portray Russia as a rogue nation in one breath and a legitimate commercial partner in the next?

On Thursday, Norbert Röttgen, a senior member of the chancellor’s conservative party and the head of the foreign affairs committee in Parliament, who has long been critical of Nord Stream 2, called for Germany to respond to the poisoning with tough measures that could include the pipeline and Russia’s sales of natural gas. read more

The Guardian: Merkel pressured to end Nord Stream 2 support after Navalny poisoning

Philip Oltermann in Berlin and Luke Harding

Thu 3 Sep 2020 17.30 BST

Angela Merkel is under growing domestic pressure to end her support for the joint German-Russian Nord Stream 2 pipeline project over the confirmed poisoning of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

The German Green party called on the chancellor to use the nearly completed infrastructure project to press the Kremlin into answering allegations over what Merkel called the “silencing” of Navalny with a novichok nerve agent. read more

Shell may have to write off Nord Stream 2 investment if project collapses

Calls mount for Germany to rethink Nord Stream 2 pipeline after Navalny poisoning

Merkel said on Wednesday that Navalny, who is being treated in a Berlin hospital, was the victim of a murder attempt using the nerve agent Novichok, and demanded an explanation by Russia.

Moscow has denied involvement in the incident and the Russian foreign ministry said Germany’s assertion was not backed by evidence.

Western countries have condemned the attack on Navalny and many German politicians want a tough response. read more

Exclusive: Shell eyes stake in Nayara’s $9 billion Indian petchem project – source

NEW DELHI/MOSCOW (Reuters) – Oil major Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> plans to buy a 50% stake in Indian-based Nayara Energy’s up to $9 billion planned petrochemical project, a source familiar with the matter said.

Global oil majors are looking at expanding foothold in the vast Indian market, where local refiners are investing billions of dollars to boost their petrochemical capacities. read more

Uniper may have to write down Nord Stream 2 loan if the pipeline fails

* Uniper is a financial backer of Nord Stream 2 project

* Risk of non-completion is increasing

* Uniper has committed to fund up to 950 mln eur (Adds CEO comments, details on Nord Stream 2 financing)

By Christoph Steitz and Tom Käckenhoff: AUGUST 11, 2020

FRANKFURT/DUESSELDORF, Aug 11 (Reuters) – German utility Uniper on Tuesday said it may have to impair a loan provided to the planned Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline if the project collapses in the face of U.S. sanctions. read more

Russia Looks To Lure Shell Into New Arctic Oil Project

By Simon Watkins – Aug 10, 2020, 4:00 PM CDT

Central now to Russia’s hydrocarbons-related power is its Arctic sector oil and gas reserves. These comprise over 35,700 billion cubic metres of natural gas and over 2,300 million metric tons of oil and condensate, principally located in the Yamal and Gydan peninsulas. According to recent comments from Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, the next 10-15 years will witness a dramatic expansion in the extraction of these Arctic resources, and a build-out of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) as the main transport route to monetise these resources in the global hydrocarbons markets. To these ends, last week saw the announcement of a joint venture (JV) between Russia’s third biggest oil company by output and the oil arm of state gas giant Gazprom, Gazprom Neft, and Anglo-Dutch super-major, Royal Dutch Shell (Shell). read more

Oil Giants’ Production Cuts Come to 1 Million Bpd as They Post Massive Writedowns

By Reuters: Aug. 9, 2020, 1:18 a.m. ET

(Reuters) – The world’s five largest oil companies collectively cut the value of their assets by nearly $50 billion in the second quarter, and slashed production rates as the coronavirus pandemic caused a drastic fall in fuel prices and demand.

The dramatic reductions in asset valuations and decline in output show the depth of the pain in the second quarter. Fuel demand at one point was down by more than 30% worldwide, and still remains below pre-pandemic levels. read more

By Stanley Reed and Lara Jakes: July 24, 2020, 4:38 a.m. ET

A hulking Russian pipe-laying vessel called the Akademik Cherskiy can be seen off Germany’s Baltic coast these days, marine tracking sites say, apparently waiting for the chance to complete the final stretches of a massive undersea pipeline that will carry natural gas directly to Germany from Russia.

The Trump administration, though, is trying to keep the pipeline, known as Nord Stream 2, on ice. Last week, the State Department moved to potentially impose economic penalties on investors and other business participants in the project, an expansion of existing sanctions. read more

Russia’s Gazprom Neft and Shell launch JV for hydrocarbon development

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft on Tuesday said it had signed an agreement with Shell to establish a joint venture to develop a large-scale hydrocarbon cluster on the Gydan peninsula in Siberia.

The deal is scheduled to close in 2020, Gazprom Neft said, after which both partners will have a 50% share in the venture.

Reporting by Maxim Rodionov and Anton Kolodyazhnyy; Writing by Alexander Marrow; editing by Louise Heavens read more

Pompeo Warns Energy Majors Over New Russian Gas Pipelines

“Get out now or risk the consequences,” Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said at the State Department on Wednesday.

Maarten Wetselaar, Klaus Schaefer, Mario Mehren, Alexey Miller, Gerhard Schroeder, Isabelle Kocher, Gerard Mestrallet, Rainer Seele, and Matthias Warnig after signing of financing agreements for Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project on April 24, 2017

By Nick Wadhams Lars Paulsson Jul 15 2020, 8:16 PM Jul 16 2020, 10:19 PM

(Bloomberg)— The U.S. is moving toward sanctions against energy companies involved in Russian pipelines to Europe and Turkey, escalating a threat to punish allies for pursuing projects that the U.S. argues will only benefit Russia.

As Europe’s domestic gas supplies decline, the region is becoming more dependent on imported fuel. The almost 10 billion-euro ($11 billion) Nord Stream 2 project from Russia to Germany is being financed by companies including Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Germany’s Uniper SE and Wintershall AG and France’s Engie SA. Allseas Group SA is helping to expand the Turk Stream link. read more

By Timothy Gardner and Humeyra Pamuk

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday warned investors in two Russian natural gas pipeline projects that they could face sanctions as the Trump administration seeks to curb the Kremlin’s economic leverage over Europe and Turkey.

Pompeo told a news conference that European investors in the Nordstream 2 and a branch of the Turkstream pipelines could be “put at risk” of U.S. sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017. The pipelines will carry gas from Russia to Europe and Turkey. read more

Implications Seen for U.S. LNG as Nord Stream 2 Nears Finish Line

BY RON NISSIMOV July 10, 2020

The start-up of the 5.3 Bcf/d NS2 could curb a potential recovery of U.S. LNG exports even if the Covid-19 pandemic recedes next year, said BTU Analytics LLC energy analyst Connor McLean.

“If Nord Stream 2 comes online as expected, the influx of supply into Europe could place further pressure on a U.S. LNG recovery in 2021,” McLean said in a recent post on the firm’s website.

To combat the Russian plan, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), John Barrasso (R-WY), Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) introduced a bill to sanction any entity that aids in completion of the line. That could include companies that have extensive operations in the U.S., such as Royal Dutch Shell plc, Total SA, Engie and OMV, which have stakes in parts of NS2, and Norwegian maritime classification society DNV. read more

One big question emerging from the pandemic is whether it will speed up the global shift away from oil. Life under lockdown gave a taste of a world that burns less petroleum, with consumption down by about a quarter and city dwellers from Los Angeles to New Delhi relishing the cleaner air. As restrictions eased, things weren’t exactly returning to normal. Many workers had given up on commuting and there was talk that air travel might never recover. On the other hand, rock-bottom oil prices and the desire to avoid crowded public transport had some people driving to work for the first time or taking road trips instead of flying. read more

Shell Russia head: We will not be put away by uncertainty

Shell Russia’s Chairman Cederic Cremers has spoken to TASS about oil prices, Nord Stream 2 and new projects

– Oil producers have faced an unprecedented drop in demand this year. Do you think, Mr. Cremers, this can accelerate energy transition and decarbonization process and make an oil peak consumption closer?

– I think that the crisis and the pandemic of COVID-19 clearly put a lot of pressure on our industry – energy demand has dropped, and the impact on the economies around the globe is very real. I do think this volatile market will be with us for a while. We do not expect that there will be a recovery in oil prices or the demand of the products in the medium term. However, we do expect that it will recover in a longer period. read more