Showing posts with label Nabucco West. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nabucco West. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Chernomorneftegaz and Rosneft offshore oil fields in the Black Sea.


Chernomorneftegaz and Rosneft offshore oil fields in the Black Sea.(RBTH).
Crimean authorities plan to nationalize gas company Chernomorneftegaz and then sell its assets to Russia. Not only would the sale create risks for Russian state giants Gazprom and Rosneft, but gas deposits could potentially become the subject of a territorial dispute between Crimea and Ukraine.

Pipeline Predicament: The Ukraine-Syria-Russia-U.S. gas nexus.


Pipeline Predicament: The Ukraine-Syria-Russia-U.S. gas nexus.(TT). HT: PhantomReport.

The past five years have demonstrated that the U.S. president does not have any ethical dimension for his foreign policy - Syria is one example - let alone the question of intervening to uphold the principle of non-aggression against a sovereign state.”

Marwan Kabalan, political analyst at the Doha Institute.

The recent U.S.-backed coup that toppled the former government in Ukraine has been couched in the noble rhetoric of democracy, humanitarian intervention and self-determination, but a closer examination reveals an ugly underside of realpolitik whose motive is energy dominance. Like Syria, Ukraine has one of the key gas pipeline corridors coveted by the U.S. and its NATO allies that is still under the influence of a so-called R&D (resistant and defiant) country such as Russia.

To understand what is happening in Ukraine and Syria, and how Qatar and Azerbaijan are involved, we must briefly look at regional energy developments following the dissolution of the former Soviet Union. While the Persian Gulf is well known for its abundant energy resources, the Caspian Sea Basin also has seen oil exploration and production since the early 1900s however the U.S. and the West had scant involvement there before the end of the Cold War. Since the breakup of the former Soviet Union, the United States and Russia have engaged in fierce competition to control the energy resources of the newly created Caspian Sea littoral states.

Energy in the Caspian Sea Basin generally has been developed by consortiums composed of major international oil firms with participation of state-owned enterprises. The first appearance of such a consortium was in 1993 when Chevron invested $20 billion in a joint venture named Tengizchevroil with the government of Kazakhstan to develop the Tengiz oil field. Since the Caspian region is landlocked, Tengizchevroil partnered with Russia’s Lukoil to build a 900-mile long pipeline to transport the oil to the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. Then in 1994, a group of oil companies including BP, Lukoil and Unocal partnered with the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) to form a consortium called Azerbaijan International Operating Company to develop three offshore oil fields.

SOCAR has also collaborated with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), Lukoil and BP Amoco in the Shah-Deniz gas project, which was established without U.S. participation due to the Iranian involvement. Discovered in 1999 and estimated to hold over 40 trillion cubic feet of gas condensate, the Shah-Deniz gas field turned out to be one of the largest fields in the world, but transporting the gas from the region proved to be problematic. The most logical route to export the gas product would be through Iran to the Persian Gulf, but this was ruled out by U.S. policy; the next best route would be through Chechnya to Black Sea ports via existing Russian pipelines, but political instability precluded this option. SOCAR’s final choice of a pipeline route has had a major impact on the West’s role in the Caspian Basin gas nexus and has contributed to the current U.S.-Russia standoff over Ukraine and Crimea, as we shall see.

By 1971, energy explorers in the Persian Gulf region had discovered the South Pars / North Dome gas-condensate field, which began producing in 1989. Jointly owned by NIOC and Qatar Petroleum, the South Pars / North Dome field is the largest in the world with estimated reserves of 1,800 trillion cubic feet of gas. In 2009, Qatar proposed a gas pipeline from the capitol Doha to Istanbul, Turkey that would cross Syria and terminate on the Mediterranean, with the gas then being shipped to Europe. Two routes were proposed: one through Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq to Turkey, and the other through Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria to Turkey. When Iraq failed to endorse Qatar’s proposal, the only route left for the pipeline was through Syria.

Unfortunately, in 2009 Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad also declined leaving Qatar, Saudi Arabia and its Western “partners” no choice but to attempt regime change in Syria. It was precisely at that time when the U.S., Great Britain and their allies began to plan covert action to destabilize Syria, according to former French foreign minister Roland Dumas. Meanwhile, Iran, Iraq and Syria signed a deal in 2010 to build the “Friendship Pipeline,” a 3,480-mile natural gas pipeline connecting Iran’s South Pars field to European customers. Dubbed the “Islamic Pipeline” by the West, the project would run from Iran’s South Pars gas field through Iraq, Syria and Southern Lebanon, and connect to Syrian ports for exporting gas to Europe.

On August 16, 2011, Syrian Oil Minister Sufian Allawi announced the discovery of a significant gas field near the city of Homs in the Qalamun region at Qara in the Dau Basin, adding to the country’s already substantial gas reserves of 10.3 trillion cubic feet. Noting that the first wells drilled had a flow rate of over 14 million cubic feet per day, the Syrian Oil Minister commented, “This discovery opens new perspectives in the region of Qalamun and the Syrian company will continue its drilling.” It is no coincidence that by this time, U.S. President Obama had begun calling for President Al-Assad to step down, and by November, the Arab league had suspended Syria’s membership, removing all obstacles to the Qatar-led and U.S.-backed regime change campaign. The announcement by the Arab League also coincided with the inauguration of Russia’s Nord Stream gas pipeline, as we will see below.

With the world’s largest proven natural gas reserves of 1,580 trillion cubic feet, Russia has come to be the dominant supplier of fossil fuels to the European Union, providing 25 percent of both its gas and oil needs. Conversely, most of Russia’s foreign currency reserves are replenished and 40 percent of its federal revenue comes from EU energy transactions, making the relationship between the EU and Russia one of interdependency. The U.S. has attempted to exploit this apparent Russian vulnerability, however, by bypassing the Russian gas supply chain to the European markets with the construction of the Nabucco Pipeline.

Billed as an opportunity for the EU to break free of its Russian energy dependence, the 2,060-mile Nabucco Pipeline was to run from Erzurum, Turkey, through Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary, to Baumgarten an der March, Austria. Backed by the U.S. and the EU at an estimated cost of $10 billion, the Nabucco Pipeline was announced in February 2002 and scheduled for completion in June 2017. However, the project was aborted after Azerbaijan’s SOCAR and the Shah-Deniz consortium announced on June 28, 2013 that it had decided to go with the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) to ship its gas exports instead. Starting at Kipoi, Greece, TAP would traverse Albania and under the Adriatic Sea, then come ashore in southern Italy at San Foca, and on to European markets. Originally proposed in 2003 with construction to begin in 2015, TAP is scheduled to deliver initial gas shipments to Georgia and Turkey in late 2018.

Russia, of course, has not stood idly by while the West has made numerous attempts to carve up the Caspian Sea Basin’s energy resources. In response to the West’s attempts to find alternative gas sources for the EU, such as the ill-fated Nabucco Pipeline, Russia built the Nord Stream Pipeline, which has been in operation since November 2011 delivering gas from Vyborg, Russia to Lubmin near Greifswald, Germany via a route under the Baltic Sea. In addition, another pipeline named South Stream, whose route is to start from Anapa, Russia near Novorossiysk, then run beneath the Black Sea surfacing at Varna Bulgaria and on to Serbia, Hungary and terminate at Baumgarten, was proposed in 2007 with completion scheduled for 2015.

While the South Stream route will completely bypass Ukraine and Crimea, the pipelines through Ukraine remain an important link in Russia’s gas distribution system. What we are seeing with the current U.S. policy in Ukraine is another attempt to reinstall an anti-Russian and pro-EU regime much like the Orange Government after the 2004 U.S.-instigated Color Revolution. The U.S. aim is to install a government in Ukraine that will favor joining NATO, something which ousted President Viktor Yanukovych was against as are a majority of the Ukraine people.

The Washington-initiated overthrow of Ukraine’s government along with the referendum in Crimea to join Russia has already forced U.S. oil firms to place their plans on hold. At a cost of $735 million, Exxon and Royal Dutch Shell had planned to drill two wells in the Black Sea some 80 kilometers from Crimea’s southwest coast however, due to unrest in Ukraine and the uncertain status of Crimea, the exploration licenses acquired by the oil giants now have dubious legality. While the drilling was to be off the coast of Crimea, it was the former Ukrainian government of Viktor Yanukovych that granted the licenses to explore in an area, which soon may no longer be under Ukrainian jurisdiction.

U.S.-NATO control of Ukraine and the pipelines that supply the EU with much of its gas from Russia is merely a step to weaken Russia. The next objective is the removal of the Russian Naval Fleet from the Black Sea, effectively making it into a NATO lake. The final U.S. goal is to encircle Russia with anti-missile batteries, which could down any Russian missile, thus allowing the possibility of a NATO nuclear first-strike. And for those who still believe U.S. leaders have concern for anyone but themselves, a moment’s reflection on Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland’s recent expletives concerning the EU should dispel any such notion.

However, like the Nabucco Pipeline fiasco, the best U.S. efforts to achieve its goals may backfire, especially if Washington applies sanctions to Russia. “If Putin now faces the same techniques from Treasury as Tehran has suffered from, he may well start protecting Iran at the UNSC [UN Security Council] and allowing Russian banks to do more open business there,” wrote University of Michigan professor of history Juan Cole. Moreover, he speculated, “Russia and possibly China together could begin working on an alternative to the U.S. stranglehold over global finance.” We can only hope that it will be soon, insha’Allah (God willing).

Related:

NATO’s Energy Security Strategy: Break Russia’s control over European gas markets

More here.

Monday, March 17, 2014

Iran: EU shouldn't influenced by US and Israel.


Iran: EU shouldn't influenced by US and Israel.(Taz).
A high-ranking Iranian official terms the assumption of the European Union rotating presidency as a historic opportunity for Greece, stating that the EU must not be influenced neither by the United States nor Israel when it comes to world issues, Iran's Press TV reported on March 16.
During a meeting with visiting Greek Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos in Tehran on March 16, Chairman of Iran's Expediency Council Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani described Tehran-Athens relations after the victory of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution as quite good, calling on Greece and other EU member states to exercise vigilance and not repeat previous mistakes under the influence of others.

Greece took over the rotating presidency of the European Union on January 8. It is the fifth time that Greece assumes the EU rotating presidency since its accession in 1981.

Rafsanjani further noted that chilly relations between Iran and the West would not be in favor of either side.
"As the world's leading energy supplier, our region (the Middle East) must be calm, and Iran -- considering its geographical, historical and political status -- is the axis of security in the region," he pointed out.
Venizelos, for his part, pointed to cultural affinities between the Greek and Iranian nations, noting that enhancement of economic and trade ties with Eastern countries is a priority for the Greek government.
He also described Iran as an influential country in the region and the entire world, stressing that Athens wants to broaden relations with Tehran on the basis of mutual interest.

Related:

NATO’s Energy Security Strategy: Break Russia’s control over European gas markets.

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Belgium foreign affairs minister (in search of cheap natural gas) to meet Iranian counterpart in Tehran.


Belgium foreign affairs minister (in search of cheap natural gas) to meet Iranian counterpart in Tehran. (Taz).
Foreign affairs minister of Belgium, Didier Reynders will visit Iran today, and meet his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif on February 23, Iranian ISNA news agency reported.
Reynders is visiting Iran upon the invitation of Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Both high-ranking officials will reportedly discuss issues of mutual interest, and hold a press conference as well.

Besides Zarif, Reynders is scheduled to meet other Iranian officials, to talk over the bilateral issues between the two countries, as well as international issues.

While in Iran, Reynders will reportedly also discuss the latest developments of Iran's negotiations with the P5+1 group about the Islamic Republic's nuclear program.

Iran and the P5+1 reached a nuclear agreement on Nov. 24. Iran has agreed to curb some of its nuclear activities for six months in return for sanctions relief.Hmmmm......If Europe believes the Turks and Iran are more 'reliable' then the Russians....I've got a bridge for sale.

Related:

Iran to send its gas to European market through Turkey.

Flashback Jan 2013 MFS The Other News: NATO’s Energy Security Strategy: Break Russia’s control over European gas markets.

Monday, February 17, 2014

Iran to send its gas to European market through Turkey.


Iran to send its gas to European market through Turkey. (Taz).
Iran is to put its gas to the European market through Turkey, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz said, Turkish TRT Haber TV channel reported on Feb.17.
This project is important for both of parties, but there is no agreement on this issue yet according to the minister.

Talking about the arbitrary court of Turkey's suit against Iran on gas price, the minister said that Ankara hopes for a fair decision.

The International Court of Arbitration will consider Turkey's suit against Iran on the gas price on Feb.17. If the court issues a decision in favour of Turkey, Tehran will have to provide for a near 30 percent discount for supplied gas to Turkey.

Based on the court's decision, Turkey may receive more than $2 billion paid for the purchase of fuel.
Ankara appealed to the International Court of Arbitration on the Iranian gas price in March 2012.

The agreement on the annual supply of 10 billion cubic meters of gas from Iran to Turkey was signed in 1996.

Gas prices are not officially disclosed, but Turkey buys Iranian gas at $490 per 1,000 cubic meters, according to the Turkish media.

Turkey imported some 7.5 billion cubic meters of gas from Iran in 2012, according to BP Energy Outlook. Earlier, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz said that the country imported around $4.5 billion worth of gas from Iran in 2013.

In total, Turkey imported some 38.42 billion cubic meters of gas in 2013 compared to 43.09 billion cubic meters in 2012. The gas consumption volume in 2013 amounted to 37.96 billion cubic meters compared to 41.44 billion cubic meters in 2012.Hmmmm.....Turkey.....Iran's BFF, Lord save us from the plague, Floods, Earthquakes ...and the Turks.....If Europe believes the Turks and Iran are more 'reliable' then the Russians....I've got a bridge for sale.

Update: Turkey Opts Out of Iranian Gas Project 


Related: Flashback Jan 2013 MFS The Other News:

NATO’s Energy Security Strategy: Break Russia’s control over European gas markets. 

Friday, December 13, 2013

Turkish Energy Minister: Iran plans to build a pipeline to carry gas to Europe.


Turkish Energy Minister: Iran plans to build a pipeline to carry gas to Europe.(Taz).
Iran plans to build a pipeline to carry Iranian gas to European countries that want to import its gas, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said during a meeting yesterday, Hurriyet Daily News reported.
"We know Iran plans to build a big pipeline to carry gas to Europe and five European countries have already planned to buy Iranian gas," Yildiz said, without giving any details about the route of the planned pipeline.

"As long as Iran develops more ties with the world, its relations with Turkey will also improve," he added.

Turkey neighbors a region that is responsible for some 65 percent of energy production and consumption, Yildiz stressed.

Iran made a historic deal with the U.S. and five other world powers on Nov. 24, accepting strict constraints on its nuclear program for the first time in a decade in exchange for partial relief from sanctions.

In the same meeting, Yildiz also said some progress could be made in the complex energy issues with Iraq.
Turkey has expressed its intention to move the process forward through a three-way mechanism including Ankara, Arbil and Baghdad, to be able to import energy sources from northern Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) via a new planned pipeline.

"We all made a pre-agreement to move along through a tripartite mechanism, then [Iraq's deputy PM for energy] Hussain al-Shahristani and KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said they could proceed without such a mechanism. The ball is now in the court of northern Iraq and the Iraqi central government," Yildiz said.

Hmmm.........NATO’s Energy Security Strategy: Break Russia’s control over European gas markets.

Saturday, June 29, 2013

The big energy game in Mediterranean.


The big energy game in Mediterranean. (HD).
The British Petroleum company announced on June 28 that the natural gas from Azerbaijan’s Caspian Sea fields of Shah Deniz will be connected to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) via the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) for European markets. This project is likely to kill Nabucco softly.
This will be the first big project to pump Caspian basin gas directly to the industrial centers of Europe, bypassing the needs for shipment and expensive liquidification stations. The 1,730-kilometer TANAP is planned to carry Azeri gas across Turkey to the border with Greece. Set to be coupled with the already-existing InterConnector line to the 870-kilometer long TAP, it will be carried (crossing Albania, too) to the San Foca terminal of Adriatic Italy. For a start, by 2020 some 16 billion cubic meters will be pumped from Baku. Turkey is planning to buy 10 bcm of it to diversify its sources of energy, as an alternative to Russian gas. The capacity of the line is expected to rise gradually to 31 bcm by 2026.
Azerbaijan has been making considerable energy investments in its close partner Turkey, buying oil refineries, and constructing new ones on top of an already-existing (again BP-operated) pipeline carrying oil from Baku through Tiblisi to Turkey’s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan; which is just next to NATO’s İncirlik Air Base that hosts one of the biggest U.S. military presences in the region.

Well, people talk about the Adriatic Sea and Aegean Sea, but they are all parts of the Mediterranean around which the Old World civilization was formed.
In other parts of the Mediterranean, another, a more tense part of the energy game is going on. Syria has been in a civil war for the last two years, escalating the tension in the East Mediterranean further. The term East Mediterranean includes still-unsettled Egypt, which hosts a major energy channel – the Suez – the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Lebanon, Turkey and Greece in the north and the island of Cyprus right in the middle of everything.
Off the shores of Cyprus and Israel, new and reportedly new gas fields have been discovered. The Greek Cypriot government, ignoring Turks’ calls to make use of all (including their) resources together, opened tenders to produce and sell the gas to Europe, also as a cure to its bankrupt economy. Turkey, on the other hand, announced that it will blacklist all companies cooperating with the Greek Cypriot gas project from Turkish energy projects; that vow became real for Italian Eni, which actually built the “Blue Stream” gas pipeline under the Black Sea carrying Russian gas to Turkey.
Israel wants to carry its gas to European markets. They know that the shortest route is a pipeline via Turkey, especially after the U.S. made economic use of shale gas, which made LNG terminals and shipping costs more deterrent. Israelis also know that when their government pays the compensation sourcing from an apology for killing nine Turks in 2010 and the politics is back on track, there is no obstacle to that project.
But the Greek Cypriots insist on building an LNG terminal and invite Israel to contribute, which might make things more complicated with Turkey. Another GreekCypriot project is to build a pipeline under the Mediterranean to mainland Greece with the support of the European Union. The distance between Cyprus and mainland Greeceis approximately 850 kilometers as the crow flies (distances to Greek islands are no less: 450 kilometers to Rhodes, 550 kilometers to Crete). The distance between Turkey and Cyprus is 70 kilometers.
But that is not the whole story. As the situation in Syria deteriorates, Russia has started to evacuate the personnel from its military base in the Tartus port of Syria, which has been its only one in the whole region. On
the other hand Moscow sent a part of its Pacific Fleet to the East Mediterranean to be a “permanent” power there. Russian ships are now anchored at the Limassol and Baphos ports of Greek Cyprus, a member of the EU. The Russians have asked the Greek Cypriot government to ink a military deal with them similar to the one Nicosia signed with Germany, another EU member, and also a member of NATO. (Yes, the Germans have an exclusive military agreement with the Greek Cypriots, which also explains the risingGerman pressure on Turkey regarding Cyprus.)
As more Azeri gas and oil start to feed the energy needs of Europe, despite the competition from the Russians, Iranians and Arabs in a few years, there is likely to be more presence of the American 6th Fleet in the East Mediterranean.Read the full story here.

Friday, January 18, 2013

NATO’s Energy Security Strategy: Break Russia’s control over European gas markets.


NATO’s Energy Security Strategy: Break Russia’s control over European gas markets.(Phantomreport).Source: NGE
In a new minority staff report for the US Senate’s committee on foreign relations, the writers noted that “Russia’s Gazprom has been forced to change its domestic strategy, including abandoning its flagship Shtokman project in the Arctic, and it has had to contend with plummeting market value and a new EU antitrust investigation. These trends give the US an unprecedented opportunity to advance broad natural gas diversification and break Russia’s control over European gas markets,”
Six days after report’s release, on December 18, 2012, the Atlantic Council organized a meeting with the report’s authors in Washington. Marik String, the committee’s deputy chief counsel, and Neil Brown, the committee’s senior professional staff member, were accompanied by David Koranyi, deputy director of the Atlantic Councils’ Patriciu Eurasia Center, and Adnan Vatansever, an independent analyst.
The report examined the development of the southern energy corridor and presented the US’ strategic interests in linking the nations of the Caspian Sea region with European and global markets. Strategically, the southern energy corridor occupies the US agenda because energy is considered an obstacle to NATO countries being politically and economically independent from Russia and Iran. This vulnerability is thus a factor undermining the US’ own bilateral relationships and weakening its own multilateral diplomatic and military forces.

As expected, discussion on potential new energy supply included shale gas in the US. The question was whether shale gas could pressure Russia’s long-term contracts. Brown highlighted the “LNG for NATO Act”. Introduced by Richard Lugar, a Republican senator from Indiana and the foreign relations committee’s ranking member, the bill aims to reduce NATO allies’ vulnerability to over-dependence on Russian and Iranian gas supplies. 
Under the bill’s framework, the US would do much more to promote LNG-shale trade with NATO allies. Brown pointed out that in Turkey’s case main suppliers continue to be Russia and Iran, and insisted on the necessity of Turkey shifting its gas market.
Following a question from the floor on Iran, the controversial situation of Iran’s sanctions and theNational Iranian Oil Company’s 10% share in Shah Deniz gas field was discussed. Brown pointed out that this is a narrow exemption for the Shah Deniz consortium and that Iran is only a passive investor in the project.
In addition to these political and strategic approaches, David Koranyi and Adnan Vatansever took time to underline the situation’s economic and financial realities.
Koranyi examined the southern energy corridor from the perspective of changing regional growth rates. He noted that five years ago the question was the sources of gas, but today conjecture has completely reversed due to Europe’s economic stagnation and Iraq and Turkey’s economic growth. For Koranyi, the southern corridor would profit more from Turkey and Iraq’s energy demand than Europe’s. He continued by discussing Turkmenistan, noting his skepticism regarding short-term solutions to problems in the Caspian Sea region. He concluded by endorsing Nabucco West.

Vatansever shifted the scale of the problem, saying “today the real risk is the price. Technical or physical disruption risks are overestimated by everybody, including Gazprom. They use this scare to justify huge pipeline projects. But the real problem is the price.” He then noted that Eastern and Central European countries are getting overpriced Russian gas. As an example, he noted Bulgaria, which pays more than Greece for the same gas from Russia because of a fear of disruption.
Vatansever forecasted an increase in Russia’s gas prices processes in near future, pointing to three factors to justify his belief. The first is that Gazprom’s new export strategy is very ambitious and costly, due to colossal projects like North Stream and South Stream. Moreover, some of these pipelines will be underutilized, making their operation costs much more expensive than market prices. Finally, Gazprom has begun losing domestic gas contracts. For Vatansever, these three factors will directly influence export gas prices, to the detriment of European consumers.
Following questions, discussion of economic approaches gave way to geopolitical discussions, with an emphasis on the strategic role of the triangular coalition between the United States, Turkey, and the European Union that favors trans-Caspian natural gas flows to Europe.Hmmmm........Switching the 'dependency' from Russia to Turkey doesn't sound like a good solution.Read the full story here.

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