Author: Steven Sahiounie

Ankara has increased its initial assessment of an offshore deposit in the Black Sea and found a new gas fieldTürkiye’s natural gas reserves in the Black Sea now total 710 billion cubic meters, with a market value of $1 trillion, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced after a new deposit was discovered and a previous find was revised higher.The increase is mainly due to the Sakarya Gas Field, which is now estimated to hold 652 billion cubic meters of gas (bcm) compared to an initial assessment of 540 bcm, Erdogan said following a cabinet meeting on Monday, adding that Türkiye has…

Exxon Mobil says the levy on excessive profits would not help lower bills for consumersUS energy giant Exxon Mobil on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against the European Union, aiming to block the recently announced windfall tax on oil companies.The suit was filed by Exxon’s Dutch and German subsidiaries at the EU’s General Court in Luxembourg. It contests the legal authority of the EU Council to impose the levy, arguing that it should be a matter decided by each country individually.Brussels introduced the new tax in September as part of a package of measures aiming to curb the surge in energy…

The Trade Ministry names new export destinations, and says talks on supplies are underwayRussia will redirect its metal exports from Western countries to alternative markets due to sanctions imposed by the EU and US, Trade Minister Denis Manturov said on Monday.Moscow named China, Türkiye, South East Asia, member states of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union and CIS countries as priority areas for diversifying metal supplies. According to Manturov, trade flows will also focus on the Latin American, African and Middle Eastern markets.Speaking at a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Manturov noted that “our enterprises, with the participation of…

A Swiss court has given the gas pipeline operator more time to avoid insolvencyA court in Switzerland has suspended bankruptcy proceedings for the operator of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline for another six months until July 10, 2023, the court announced in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce on Wednesday. The pipeline was fully completed and ready for launch in September 2021, but its certification was delayed and eventually blocked by Germany in early February due to US sanctions. After $11 billion was spent on its construction, it now stands idle and its operator is scrambling to avoid insolvency. This is the…

Deposits geographically closer to Asian markets are a priority, Aleksandr Kozlov has saidRussia plans to boost geological exploration for hydrocarbons, including natural gas, in the Far East, as it seeks to reorient energy exports to Asia amid Western sanctions, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Aleksandr Kozlov said on Tuesday.In an interview with Rossiya 24 TV channel, Kozlov stressed that boosting energy trade with Asia, and China in particular, would guarantee Russia a reliable market for its oil and gas.“We have set a priority for ourselves in geological prospecting and exploration and in aiding the search for mineral resources, particularly hydrocarbons,…

In the company has any practical interest in our bows, Igor Dodon saidCHISINAU, December 28. /TASS/. Russian gas giant Gazprom has never put forward any political preconditions during talks on gas supplies to Moldova, Moldovan ex-president Igor Dodon told TASS on Tuesday.Dodon, who currently heads the Moldovan-Russian Business Union, commented on latest remarks by Moldovan Parliament Speaker and the ruling party leader Igor Grosu, who claimed that the Russian gas company reduced its gas supplies to Moldova “to force its government to bow [before Gazprom].””During my tenure as the president, and prior to that as the deputy prime minister in…

A sentence of life imprisonment was requested by Prosecutor Maria SemenenkoMOSCOW, December 27. /TASS/. The Moscow City Court sentenced former senator from the Karachay-Circassian Region Rauf Arashukov and his father, ex-advisor to Gazprom Mezhregiongaz, Raul Arashukov, to life imprisonment for organizing the murder of two people and stealing 4.4 billion rubles worth of natural gas.”The court ruled to sentence Arashukov Rauf and Raul to life imprisonment,” Judge Yelena Guchenkova proclaimed.The court also ruled that 12 million rubles be seized from the defendants and used as compensation to the families of the victims.Earlier, the jury found the defendants guilty of establishing…

Last week, Vladimir Putin told reporters about the intention to sign the decree on tit-for-tat measures against the price ceiling for Russian oil introduced by the West on December 26-27December 27, 2022MOSCOW, December 27. /TASS/. The Kremlin will inform when Russian President Vladimir Putin will sign the decree on tit-for-tat measures against the Russian oil price cap set by the West, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS.”We will inform when it is signed,” Peskov said, answering a question whether such decree is signed today.Last week, Putin told reporters about the intention to sign the decree on tit-for-tat measures against the…

The next year will be fairly challenging from Russia from the standpoint of finance and the deficit budget, First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov said on the air with the Rossiya-24 TV Channel.”The next year will be rather tough for us in terms of finance. That is, we set the deficit budget for the next year; we understand amounts of borrowing. All of that was agreed with the Bank of Russia, and this task, this financial framework – it exists, and [it] exists in a fairly rigid format. This rigid format anticipates strict prioritization of expenses and projects,” Belousov said.”The…

The heating season in Europe began on November 14, and since that moment, the EU countries have taken 15.42 billion cubic meters of gas from storage facilities. Gas reserves in underground storage facilities (UGS) of the European Union again exceeded 90 billion cubic meters amid a record gas pumping.Gas pumping continues to be more than 2 times higher than withdrawal from UGS, which is at an all-time low for the end of December. Temperatures above the climate norm have led to a noticeable decrease in gas consumption in Europe and a rapid drop in prices, and the current week is…