Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed this weekend their countries’ cooperation in the OPEC+ oil production pact in their second telephone call since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia is a key partner to OPEC’s largest producer and de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, in the …
Read More »Oil Prices Rise on Supply Concerns as Ukraine Crisis Deepens
Oil prices rose on Monday as concerns grew about tighter global supply, with the deepening crisis in Ukraine raising the prospect of heavier sanctions by the West on top exporter Russia. Brent futures were up US$1.50, or 1.3 per cent, at US$113.20 a barrel at 12.30am GMT, and US West …
Read More »Russia’s Oil Industry is Suffering as the West Shuns its Crude
Russia’s oil industry—a vital source of budget revenues—is already showing signs of slowdown as Western buyers shun Russian oil while Moscow struggles to replace lost sales in the West with sales in emerging Asian markets. The war Putin started in Ukraine is hitting home: storage capacity is full, infrastructure and …
Read More »Russia Says some Buyers Agreed to Rubles-for-Gas Payments
Some of Russia’s natural gas customers have agreed to pay in rubles for Russian gas, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday. Last month, Vladimir Putin said that “unfriendly” nations should pay in rubles for natural gas. Russia had set a March 31 deadline for the countries it considers …
Read More »EU Begins Drafting Embargo on Russian Oil
The European Union has started drafting its proposal for an embargo on Russian oil imports as its latest response to the war in Ukraine, the New York Times reported, citing Brussels officials and diplomats. The embargo will most likely be introduced in a gradual way, similar to the planned Russian …
Read More »EU Set to Discuss Joint Gas Buying in Bid to Cut Russian Reliance
The leaders of the European Union member states are expected to discuss at their summit at the end of May the idea of jointly buying natural gas to avoid competing with each other for non-Russian supply as the EU seeks to cut its dependence on Moscow, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, …
Read More »Russia’s Gazprom Continues Gas Exports to Europe via Ukraine
Russian state-owned gas producer Gazprom continued to supply natural gas to Europe via Ukraine on Friday in line with requests from European consumers, the company said. Requests stood at 71.6 million cubic metres for Friday, down from 81.1 million cubic metres on Thursday.
Read More »The Threat of Russian Cyberattacks on Western Infrastructure is Growing
Back in early February, reports were mounting that Russia was preparing to invade Ukraine. Videos of Russian troops training, working out, and preparing for battle were circulating around the internet, and Vladimir Putin was giving veiled and vague warnings and threats of the impending war. As it became clear that …
Read More »Greece to Boost Gas Exploration Efforts to Cut Russian Dependence
Greece plans to step up efforts to explore for natural gas in an attempt to reduce its 40-percent reliance on Russian gas, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Tuesday. “Accelerating the exploitation of the country’s national energy resources will allow us, if we are lucky and we have exploitable …
Read More »Could a Full Oil Embargo Stop the War in Ukraine?
A “real embargo” on Russian oil could end the war in Ukraine in a matter of months, the BBC has reported, citing a former chief economic adviser to President Putin. According to Andrei Ilarionov, who resigned in 2005, if the West “would try to implement a real embargo on oil …
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