'Sanctions that Benefit' - Iranian MPs Visit Belgian Gas Transmission Firm.

'Sanctions that Benefit' - Iranian MPs Visit Belgian Gas Transmission Firm. (Fars).

Iranian lawmakers of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majlis) who are also members of the Iran-Belgium Parliamentary Friendship Group visited the Fluxys Belgium company which is a gas transmission operator in Europe.

The Iranian chairman of the group, Abbasali Mansouri, is heading the five-member delegation visiting Belgium on the invitation of the Belgian chairman of the group, Dirk Van der Maelen, member of the Chamber of Representatives or the lower house of the Federal Parliament.

During their stay, the Iranian MPs are scheduled to meet their counterparts as well as speakers of the Belgian legislative chambers, foreign minister, and deputy foreign minister.

Promotion of parliamentary relations, facilitation of trade and economic ties, cooperation in energy fields, and exchanging views on regional and international developments are on the agenda of visit.

Related: 

 2014 - February 22 :  Belgium foreign affairs minister (in search of cheap natural gas) to meet Iranian counterpart in Tehran.

"Sanctions that benefit" - BP restarts North Sea gas field that it owns with Iran.

"Sanctions that benefit" - BP restarts North Sea gas field that it owns with Iran. (Taz).

BP has recommenced production at one of the UK’s most important North Sea gasfields, nearly four years after the oil major was forced to halt output because of sanctions against Iran, the Financial Times reported Oct. 18.

‎The oil group confirmed on Friday that gas had begun to flow out of the Rhum field, 250 miles off Scotland’s northeast coast, which until its closure in November 2010 had been contributing around 4-5 per cent of Britain’s total gas output.

A thaw in diplomatic relations between western governments and Iran, which owns a 50 percent stake in the field, led to permission in October last year from the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change for production to begin once more at Rhum.

However technical difficulties and safety concerns have led to a delay of a year for output to resume.

Rhum is half owned and operated by BP, but the Iranian Oil Company has a 50 percent stake in the field, which was discovered in 1977, two years before the fall of the Shah amid the country’s Islamic populist revolution.

BP said it would take two to three days for gas flows from the field to feed though Rhum’s platform systems to allow for eventual delivery.

The oil company is expecting initial output at Rhum to be held at 50m cubic feet per day. The field’s peak output capacity had initially been expected to reach 300m cubic feet per day.

DECC said: “The government supports the resumption of production at Rhum, which is necessary to avoid potential environmental damage and will prevent the possible destruction of the value of the field and its important contribution to the UK’s annual gas production.”

Revenues owed to Iran from renewed production at Rhum will be held, for now, by the British government in a frozen account until a full resolution over sanctions emerges. Hmmm......Who needs Russian gas?


Flashback 2010.

The spokesman acknowledged that the sanctions would have an effect on British businesses.

"However," he added, "the potential cost to the U.K. of Iran continuing with its current nuclear program is far greater."

The joint venture to operate the Rhum natural-gas field was set up during the early 1970s, when Iran was still ruled by the Shah.

Gas was discovered in the field in 1977, two years before the Iranian revolution, but because of the technically challenging nature of the reservoir, it only started producing in 2006.

BP said Rhum's total resources, roughly equivalent to 135 million barrels of oil, amount to 800 million cubic feet—a tiny fraction of the U.K.'s proven reserves of 12 trillion cubic feet.

The loss of Rhum will have little bearing on Iran's oil and gas income.

Corporate filings made in April by the Iranian partner, Iranian Oil Co. UK, a subsidiary of state-controlled Naftiran Intertrade Co, showed it had revenue of £54.5 million ($85.78 million) from the field in 2009, and earned a profit after tax of £17.6 million, after posting a loss of £62.7 million in 2008.

The report suggested sanctions had already complicated IOC U.K.'s business, though they hadn't yet had a material impact.

"As a result of U.S. sanctions restricting trade with Iranian-controlled entities, the company will avoid using any equipment sourced from the U.S. or from U.S.-owned companies in its next projects and will replace all restricted equipment as soon as possible," the annual report said.

UK forecasters predict “exceptionally severe” winter, unlike anything we have experienced in modern times.

Britain Jan 2013.

UK forecasters predict “exceptionally severe” winter, unlike anything we have experienced in modern times.(EX).HT: IceAgeNow.

 Britain faces “an incomparable scenario to anything we have experienced in modern times”.

 Winter 2013 into 2014 is forecast to be “exceptionally severe” with above-average snowfall and plunging temperatures.
Long-range weather forecasts warn of bitter Arctic gales leading to feet-deep snow drifts right up until February.
Snow forecasts for winter 2013 suggest much of the country will be hit by heavy wintry downpours with no let up well into next year.
As lovers of the white stuff ask ‘will it snow?’ this winter, the general consensus among long-range forecasters is a resounding ‘yes’.
However they said winter could bring chaos similar to the big freeze of 2010/11 which saw airports close and roads grind to a standstill for months.
The warnings come as temperatures begin to dip around the UK with the first “real taste” of winter likely to hit next week.
James Madden, forecaster for Exacta Weather, said Britain is braced for “copious” snowfall this winter with extreme cold expected to last into the spring.
He added that Britain faces “an incomparable scenario to anything we have experienced in modern times”.
He said: “An exceptionally prolonged period of widespread cold is highly likely to develop throughout this winter and last into next spring.
“It will be accompanied by snow drifts of several feet and long-lasting snow accumulations on a widespread scale.
“This period of snow and cold is likely to result in an incomparable scenario to anything we have experienced in modern times.
“A scenario similar to December 2010 is likely to develop, but on a more prolonged scale in terms of overall duration.”
January is likely to bring the worst of the weather although Britain will shiver in below-average temperatures for the next three months.
He said: “This is certainly a record-breaking and historical weather period which is likely to see one of the coldest and snowiest starts to British New Year in a very long time.”
Jonathan Powell, forecaster for Vantage Weather Services, said this winter could be the worst for decades.
He said: “We are looking at something on a par with 2010 when Britain was hit by particularly bad big freeze.
“The focal point at this stage seems to be January, when we could see widespread heavy snow and below-average temperatures.
“This could stretch out for weeks, meaning we could be looking at the worst winter big freeze for decades.”

Related:  Pissing off your energy provider in mid Winter….not a smart move

Cold winter ahead for EU, Ukraine over Russian gas war.

Pissing off your energy provider in mids Winter....not a smart move.

Cold winter ahead for EU, Ukraine over Russian gas war.(RT).

In October, Ukraine's national oil and gas company Naftogaz said it had 17 billion cubic meters of gas in storage, but Russia’s state-owned energy giant Gazprom says it won’t be enough to heat Ukraine through the winter.

However, Ukraine will require 21.5 billion cubic meters, Deputy Chief Executive Officer Vitaly Markelov said on Thursday. Meanwhile, by the time Ukraine's chilly winter comes, storage will be drained to 14 billion cubic meters, according to Markelov.

“It’s a catastrophe,” Bloomberg quotes Markelov. “In these conditions, the winter transit of Russian gas won’t be possible because storage won’t be enough to compensate for Ukrainian consumer draw downs.”

Europe imports roughly 25 percent of its gas from Russia, 50 percent of which is currently shipped through Ukraine. 

If Ukraine and Russia get tangled up in a gas war over pricing or politics and the pipes are turned off, it would be an energy burden for neighboring European states, as a supply crunch would send prices soaring.
Transit through Ukraine stood at 61 billion cubic meters in the first nine months of 2013, while in FY 2012 the figure was at 84.2 billion cubic meters.
Gas tiffs and pricing disputes over advanced payments have caused major supply disruptions, both in the winters of 2006 and 2009, leaving many customers without heat.
Naftogaz said it will stop buying gas from Gazprom during 2014 after Gazprom CEO Aleksey Miller demanded Ukraine 'immediately' pay $882 million of gas debt, threatening to stop pre-pay deliveries.
President Viktor Yanukovich contradicted Naftogaz’s position, when on Thursday, he said he “hopes for a compromise” with Russia.
Yanukovich was in Moscow over the weekend and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin but no official communiqué was released on their meeting.
Ukraine complains about high prices for Russian gas, that average being around $400 per 1,000 cubic meters, one of the highest prices in Europe. Ukraine currently imports more than half of its gas from Russia, but both countries are making efforts to cut down on business.

Russia is building a maze of pipelines to the north and south, to ensure more reliable supply to European customers, and Ukraine is wooing foreign companies in joint ventures in shale and offshore reserves.Hmmm....As usual the british pensioners will be hardest hit.