Does Germany Kill Nabucco Project?
Does Germany Kill Nabucco project: European Energy Security
This appeared in the Moscow Times, originally an editorial in Vedomosti. Former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder sure has earned his money.
Although France and Italy also supported the downgrading of Nabucco, Germany, which stands to be on the receiving end of the Nord Stream pipeline, is Nabucco’s largest opponent. Nord Stream’s shareholders include Gazprom with 51 percent, German enterprises E.On and BASF with 20 percent each and Dutch Gasunie with 9 percent.
Most of the skepticism surrounding Nabucco centers on the lack of gas to fill it. Iran, with the world’s second-largest natural gas reserves, could easily fill the pipeline, but it is impossible to imagine Tehran as a reliable partner in Nabucco considering how many sharp points of contention there are between Iran and the United States (and many EU members as well) — mainly over Tehran’s nuclear program. Turkmenistan, which has the world’s fifth-largest reserves of natural gas, could play a prominent role in Nabucco, but this would require building a new Trans-Caspian pipeline. Moreover, there are security issues regarding transit routes through Georgia and Turkey.
Gazprom’s other proposed project, South Stream, which would transport gas from Russia to Bulgaria and onward to other European countries via the Black Sea, would be Nabucco’s competitor.
Now Gazprom can see itself as the victor. While Europe is shelving Nabucco until more prosperous times, Gazprom continues to see the ambitious South Stream and Nord Stream projects as their key strategic priorities.
On the other hand, Gazprom’s gas exports to Europe have shrunk since the beginning of the year by 40 percent in comparison with the same period a year ago. Moreover, long-term forecasts point to European demand for gas dropping much more than previously believed, which makes the Nabucco deferral logical.
Gazprom may believe that the Nabucco downgrade strengthens its status as a near-monopoly supplier of gas for Europe. But the price of having this privilege may prove to be very expensive.
“Nabucco†pipeline withdrawn from list of EU priorities
“Nabucco†pipeline withdrawn from list of EU priorities
According to recent news from Russia, Nabucco pipeline project is no longer in the list of EU priorities. Here is the news:-
The construction of the “Nabucco†pipeline for the transportation of gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe is withdrawn from the list of the European Union’s priority projects. As a source in the EU Council said, Germany, Italy and France called in question the necessity of the “Nabucco†project. While taking a decision on the withdrawal of “Nabucco†from the list of the EU priorities investors’ fears were also taken into account. They foresee certain difficulties, taking into account the current situation in Georgia one section of the “Nabucco†pipeline should run across, a drop in demand for fuels and the rivalry between the Russian gas pipeline project South Stream and the “Nabucco†project.
Source: Voice of Russia
Oil Prices in Oil Producing Countries
Oil Prices in Oil Producing Countries
The following is the comparison list for Oil Prices in Oil Producing Countries sent by a friend. The oil prices are sorted in descending order. It seems that the highest price oil is in Malaysia. It may be due to cost of production. If you look at the cost of producing oil in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia there must be huge difference.
Note: The currency for comparisons is Malaysian Ringgit.
MALAYSIA RM2.70/litre
UAE RM1.19/litre
Eygpt RM1.03/litre
Bahrain RM0.87/litre
Qatar RM0.68/litre
Kuwait RM0.67/litre
Saudi Arabia RM0.38/litre
Iran RM0.35/litre
Nigeria RM0.32/litre
Turkmenistan RM0.25/litre
Venezuela RM0.16/litre