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

Senators to push sanctions bill on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is set to introduce legislation that would expand sanctions against Gazprom’s (OTCPK:OGZPY) Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Russia and Germany by targeting insurance companies that work with Russian vessels on completion of the project.

Senator Ted Cruz, one of the sponsors of the legislation, says the pipeline poses “a critical threat to America’s national security and must not be completed.”

The bill would expand sanctions to companies that provide “underwriting services or insurance or reinsurance” for vessels working on the pipeline as well as those that provide “services or facilities for technology upgrades or installation of welding equipment for, or retrofitting or tethering” of vessels. read more

UPDATE 1-U.S. senators weigh additional sanctions on Russia’s Nord Stream 2

WASHINGTON/FRANKFURT/MOSCOW, May 28 (Reuters) – Two U.S. senators are considering drafting further sanctions on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline if Moscow goes ahead and finishes laying pipes, in another blow to a project which has already faced delays.

U.S. sanctions legislation originally sponsored by Senators Ted Cruz, a Republican, and Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat, in December halted work by Swiss-Dutch company Allseas on the pipeline that aims to boost Russia’s gas exports under the Baltic Sea to Germany. read more

The World’s Most Controversial Gas Pipeline Is Nearing Its Endgame

Bloomberg News: Jonathan Tirone: May 13, 2020: 5:29 AM EDT: Last Updated May 13, 2020

(Bloomberg) — Construction of the world’s most controversial natural gas pipeline is about to enter the endgame of an energy dispute that’s pitted the U.S. against Russia and some of its closest trans-Atlantic allies, satellite images show.

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, built to increase the flow of Russian gas into Europe’s biggest economy, was thwarted five months ago after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sanctions that forced workers to retreat. Now, after a three-month voyage circumnavigating the globe, the Akademik Cherskiy, the Russian pipe-laying vessel that’s a prime candidate to finish the project, has anchored off the German port where the remaining pipeline sections are waiting to be installed. read more

APRIL 13, 2020 / 9.09 PM

MOSCOW, April 13 (Reuters) – International energy major Shell has decided not to complete a deal on a Russian Arctic oil joint venture, Meretoyakha Neftegaz, it was expected to enter with Gazprom Neft, because of some “external” factors.

Total resources at fields of Meretoyakha Neftegaz were valued by Gazprom Neft at 1.1 billion tonnes (over 8 billion barrels of oil).

The decision has been taken against the background of falling global investments into energy projects over weak oil and gas demand and prices amid the global economic downturn, overproduction and the spread of the coronavirus. read more

Royal Dutch Shell has announced it is planning to save at least $8billion in the coming year following the huge fall in oil prices.

The world’s ninth-largest company by revenue says capital expenditures are to be scaled back by $5billion. At the same time, underlying operating costs will be cut by at least $3billion to help cope with the impact of the coronavirus.

It still plans to go ahead with their $10billion divestment programme but have cancelled the next tranche of their share buyback programme. read more

ROBIN PAGNAMENTA: 19 MARCH 2020

It is the biggest company in the FTSE 100 and its largest dividend payer – a cornerstone investment for millions of pension funds around the world.

Royal Dutch Shell has not cut dividend payments to shareholders for more than 70 years but a precipitous plunge in oil prices this month has left chief executive Ben van Beurden facing an agonising choice.

The oil price war launched by Russia and Saudi Arabia on March 9 and fuelled by a collapse in demand linked to coronavirus will damage the entire industry – but some producers are far better positioned than others to survive a lengthy downturn. read more

Bloomberg News

(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump’s top energy official said he’s confident that Russia won’t be able to complete the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea — and signaled that the U.S. will press forward with its opposition to the project.

Asked about Russian efforts to circumvent U.S. sanctions on the pipeline by completing it on its own, U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said “they can’t” — and dismissed claims that project owner Gazprom PJSC will face only a short delay. read more

Stuart Elliott: 30 JAN 2020

London — Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said Thursday the company was “not spending enough” on its new energies business, particularly in electricity.

Speaking to journalists following the release of Q4 earnings, van Beurden said he “desperately” wanted to grow the business more quickly, but it would remain disciplined in its spending.

Shell created its new energies division — which brings together assets in electricity supply and generation, electric vehicle charging, and other new fuels such as hydrogen and biofuels — in 2016. read more

Stephen Stapczynski, Anna Shiryaevskaya and Naureen S. Malik. Bloomberg: January 24, 2020

(Bloomberg) — Liquefied natural gas prices are poised to test record lows this year thanks to an onslaught of supply and warmer temperatures, throwing up risks and opportunities for the producers, buyers and traders behind the world’s fastest-growing fossil fuel.

The startup of new export projects from Australia to the U.S. has flooded the market, while brimming stockpiles in Europe and an expected slowdown in Chinese demand have dumped cold water on consumption prospects. LNG for spot delivery to North Asia is on track to hit an all-time low this summer, while gas prices in Europe and the U.S. are trading at the weakest seasonal levels since 1999. read more

2 Jan 2020

The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is a European affair, and the US must not intervene with this initiative, said Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Last week, US President Donald Trump signed the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, which includes penalties for Nord Stream 2. Allseas’s Swiss company stopped digging the pipes under the pressure of U.S. restrictions.

“If Nord Stream 2 had reached the territories of the U.S. somehow, I would have appreciated the debate of the possible involvement of Washington in these issues. No one has to deal with that, except the nations involved in the project because of geographical and financial aspects, “Zakharova told the Rossiya 24 channel. read more

English translation of an article published today by the Dutch FD

Russia has a ship to finish Nord Stream 2

From our editor

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia itself has a pipeline ship to complete the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany. The newspaper Kommersant reported this on Thursday, based on anonymous sources.

Earlier this week, under pressure from US sanctions legislation, the Dutch-Swiss offshore group Allseas stopped the construction of Nord Stream 2. This pipeline runs from the Russian Oest-Luga through the Baltic Sea and the Baltic Sea to the German Greifswald. read more