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Russia Cuts Off Ukraine Gas Supply To 6 European Countries
Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian state energy giant Gazprom to cut supplies to and through Ukraine amid accusations, according to The Daily Mail, that its neighbor has been siphoning off and stealing Russian gas. Due to these "transit risks for European consumers in the territory of Ukraine," Gazprom cut gas exports to Europe by 60%, plunging the continent into an energy crisis "within hours." Perhaps explaining the explosion higher in NatGas prices (and oil) today, gas companies in Ukraine confirmed that Russia had cut off supply; and six countries reported a complete shut-off of Russian gas. The EU raged that the sudden cut-off to some of its member countries was "completely unacceptable," but Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller later added that Russia plans to shift all its natural gas flows crossing Ukraine to a route via Turkey; and Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak stated unequivocally, "the decision has been made."
Russia plans to shift all its natural gas flows crossing Ukraine to a route via Turkey, a surprise move that the European Union’s energy chief said would hurt its reputation as a supplier.
The decision makes no economic sense, Maros Sefcovic, the European Commission’s vice president for energy union, told reporters today after talks with Russian government officials and the head of gas exporter, OAO Gazprom, in Moscow.
Gazprom, the world’s biggest natural gas supplier, plans to send 63 billion cubic meters through a proposed link under the Black Sea to Turkey, fully replacing shipments via Ukraine, Chief Executive Officer Alexey Miller said during the discussions. About 40 percent of Russia’s gas exports to Europe and Turkey travel through Ukraine’s Soviet-era network.
...
Sefcovic said he was “very surprised” by Miller’s comment, adding that relying on a Turkish route, without Ukraine, won’t fit with the EU’s gas system.
Gazprom plans to deliver the fuel to Turkey’s border with Greece and “it’s up to the EU to decide what to do” with it further, according to Sefcovic.
Which, as The Daily Mail reports, has led to a major (and imminent) problem for Europe...
Russia cut gas exports to Europe by 60 per cent today, plunging the continent into an energy crisis 'within hours' as a dispute with Ukraine escalated.
This morning, gas companies in Ukraine said that Russia had completely cut off their supply.
Six countries reported a complete shut-off of Russian gas shipped via Ukraine today, in a sharp escalation of a struggle over energy that threatens Europe as winter sets in.
Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Croatia and Turkey all reported a halt in gas shipments from Russia through Ukraine.
* * *
As Bloomberg goes on to note, Gazprom has reduced deliveries via Ukraine after price and debt disputes with the neighboring country that twice in the past decade disrupted supplies to the EU during freezing weather.
“Transit risks for European consumers on the territory of Ukraine remain,” Miller said in an e-mailed statement. “There are no other options” except for the planned Turkish Stream link, he said.
“We have informed our European partners, and now it is up to them to put in place the necessary infrastructure starting from the Turkish-Greek border,” Miller said.
Russia won’t hurt its image with a shift to Turkey because it has always been a reliable gas supplier and never violated its obligations, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told reporters today in Moscow after meeting Sefcovic.
“The decision has been made,” Novak said. “We are diversifying and eliminating the risks of unreliable countries that caused problems in past years, including for European consumers.”
* * *
That helps to explain today's epic meltup in NatGas futures...
* * *
"They [the Russians] have reduced deliveries to 92million cubic metres per 24 hours compared to the promised 221million cubic metres without explanation," said Valentin Zemlyansky of the Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz.
"We do not understand how we will deliver gas to Europe. This means that in a few hours problems with supplies to Europe will begin."
* * *
Check to you Europe (i.e. Washington)... Because it's getting might cold in Europe...
(and bear in mind the consequences of cold, pissed off Europeans in the past).
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http://www.economist.com/blogs/charlemagne/2014/04/netherlands-lng-terminal
The Gate terminal is currently operating at approximately 10% of capacity, according to its managing director, Dick Meurs. It was built by the state-owned gas distributor Gasunie and Dutch-based energy trading firm Vopak, for a price tag of some €900m ($1,244). The Dutch government saw the terminal as part of its strategy to hold onto the Netherlands' position as a key European gas hub.
Good point
my comment evaporated so I'll repeat. Gas is often used for electrical production which is used to run any modern economy. So Russia may have just turned off the lights and many an industrial process turning those economies affected down...this is no small action by the Russians....Oh Oh!!
We have excessive amount of thermo coal here in the US. If the Europeans can deal with the smokes, coal is a lot more easier to transport than natural gas.
. . . and 14 of these just in Texas and Lousiana alone (which construction was started the last time Russia did this):
Gas goes out: http://www.ibtimes.com/feds-approve-fourth-lng-export-terminal-amid-grow...
Gas comes in: http://www.economist.com/blogs/charlemagne/2014/04/netherlands-lng-terminal
Europe gets 38.7% of it's gas from Russia.
The countries with economies that really matter to the ECB / FED banking system are in bold.
There are a few problems like transport and costs of LNG.
1. It will take a few hundred LNG tankers a day to replace the volume of Russan NG being piped to the EU
2. LNG costs 5x as much as NG
That, and the US was a net natural gas importer in 2013. I haven't checked for 2014. If we start exporting more than tolken amounts, prices are going to shoot up.
The coal in the Ukraine is on the Eastern side aka NovoRussia.
Did you even read own article.
The US doesn't have ANY LNG export capacity.
And liquefying natural gas is a significantly more difficult and capital intensive process than converting the liquids back to gas.
Then why did they build them? And at several billion dollars a pop?
In 2013, the US was a net natural gas importer. I haven't checked for 2014 yet. The idea that we'll supply the world is just a pipe dream.
They didn't build them.
Submitting 14 proposals to build LNG export facilities is not the same as actually building 14 export facilities, unless you are some dumb nigger named Barry.
from your own article - "The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) says at least 14 export terminals have been proposed along the U.S. Gulf Coast, the East Coast and in the Pacific Northwest. Of those, FERC has approved four projects for siting, construction and operation."
Of which ZERO have been completed.
So the LNG will be delivered, WHEN, LOL>
So the Harvard idiots thought they could bitch-slap Russia and Russia would just continue supplying cheap abundant natural gas so the USA vassal state Ukraine stays toasty and warm in January? Really? Now Russia bitch-slaps the EU and the Harvard mafia and everyone's shocked! Shocked! The holy US status quo will tolerate NO opposition. What does Russia have to lose with this move? Nothing!
Vlad (to Euroweenies) "I believe this arse belongs to you? Hope you can keep it warm."
Didn't happen, pure fiction, bogus report. Russian gas supplies to Ukraine have not been turned off or drastically reduced any time this year (2015).
Daily Mail is 100% unreliable source.
The Daily Mail article referenced is from 2012. WTF?
Dupe
I looked everywhere to find out more about this story, only to discover nothing.
the mail and bloomberg links are the only ones out there.
I gues Zh is now mainstream enough i am going to have to fact check every thing here too before i read it.
The Daily Mall looks like an old story.
Bloomberg reports the story as a plan, not that anyone has been cut off.
It is not the first time that Zero Hedge came out with the news quicker than the MSM, but if this post isn't true it hurts ZH credibility to the point it is no better than the MSM ZH criticizes.
maybe ZH is connected to the source and this is news next week
willing to give the benefit of doubt here
a journalist in the 70s was sent to a central american country and was told to report from the war there.. journalist reports back from location and says, there's no war to be seen... then gets told to stay put and wait for it... surely war broke out a couple days after
do you know why CNN is always right there before it even happens?
they're connected to the MIC that makes the news
Approaching midnight here in the central U.S.; it is only 7 AM in
Berlin. Web pages may not have been updated yet.
Time to go to bed children. Allow me to insert a pacifier into your mouth. I'll read you a bedtime story from Grandpa Buffet's classic storybook edition.
On a side note..
No thank you. No BMW, thank you. This is why you have a solid customer base. We buy your cars for the Ultimate Driving Experience! Bring back the M5 competition package. It was sold out before I could purchase in 2014. Thank you. Your facility in Greer, SC is astounding. Tiny SUV's is not a market for us. Stick with the M5 saloon. Lincoln still builds a beautiful SUV. It's called a Navigator. Mrs. Atomizer calls all these new hybrid SUV's, turtles. There is nothing more entertaining than watching a 4ft 8" woman jumping into a Lincoln Mark LT/crew cab with 5.4L under the hood. She hates the Navigator which is about 1.5 foot shorter. Moral of story, build bigger BMW SUV's. We are both BMW customers reaching out to you.
Lots of credibility lost here at ZH tonight....
From Gazprom's website tonight ( http://www.gazprom.com/press/news/2015/january/article212264/ ) :
"Gazprom fulfills its obligations to the full and supplies natural gas to Ukraine on a prepayment basis according to daily requests of Naftogaz of Ukraine. At the same time, Naftogaz of Ukraine purchases less gas than provided for by the Brussels Agreements and withdraws it from its underground storages, which leads to a drastic reduction of gas reserves in the UGS facilities, that are insufficient for securely passing the winter period. Bearing in mind that the winter peak periods of gas consumption fall on late January and February, transit risks for European consumers remain in Ukraine.
Alexey Miller stressed that Gazprom had been a reliable supplier of natural gas to European clients for over 40 years. The Company systematically works on diversifying the energy supply routes. Nord Stream and Yamal – Europe demonstrate high reliability and efficiency of direct Russian natural gas deliveries.
Gazprom’s current efforts are aimed at creating a new gas pipeline to Turkey under the Black Sea. This project will provide for Russian natural gas supply in the amount of 50 billion cubic meters to the Turkish and Greek borders."
From the above it's pretty damned easy, even in "corporate speak", to see what's going on.
This is called capitalism, unlike Obama's entitlement goals to stranglehold an entire country under one plantation.
Sounds like this Tyler ought to post a retraction and quit relying on the Daily Mail.
Do you think Merkels nipples are hard? She might just be happy to see you or its cold.
/sarc
http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-losing-european-gas-2015-1
Yawn... This is barely news worthy guys. Anyone look at the chart in the article? NatGas up almost 4 cents? OMG, it's a MELTUP, the balloon is up. Call your children ho... Yeah, fuck off it's a none event.
Because Russia has done this in the past, when Ukraine tried to siphon off gas meant for the rest of Europe before, the story should be taken seriously, at least at first glance. But I have listened to English Language programs on France24, Euronews, RT, and CNN; and there is no mention of this story. However, since the mainstream Media are "all Charlie, all the time", it may take a day or two for this to surface.
Most ZH readers should be able to recall that just such a move by the Russians, timed to occur at the onset of frigid weather in Europe, was very much part of the list of countermeasures that Russia would employ.
Besides the weather, other factors are coming to a head:
So, this would be a good time to put the screws onto the EU and the Ukrainians. Add to this just how much the fixation on Charlie Hebdo has infuriated the President of Turkey; and you can see how eager both the Russians and Turks want to pull this one off.
> The Kiev gov't has cut off gas supplies to the breakaway oblasts, as well as all other essential supplies.
Unlikely.
It is not physically possible to cut off Donetsk city from gas without also cutting off Mariupol.
It looks like Putin is doing all he can to eliminate climate warming. LOL.
Go Vlad !!
The great paradox is that Vlad has turned the heat up on the Europeans by lowering the temperature.
A few things that some seem to be confused about:
.
1) Natural gas futures have gone up from a low of $2.78 a couple days ago to $3.28 now (18% increase),
2) Here's another link from a Russian source stating that transit of gas thru Ukraine has been stopped:
https://z5h64q92x9.net/tr-url/ru-en.en/www.segodnia.ru/news/154923 (segodina.ru, translated by Yandex)
3) the Daily Mail article, as well as Bloomberg articles were written today, not several years ago,
4) Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, etc., that are reporting a stoppage of gas thru their pipelines, are not necessarily the only ultimate consumers of said gas. So it's possible (likely) that other European countries will be affected.
5) replacement gas deliveries thru Turkey won't be available until the new pipeline(s) are built (I think).
-----
So this ZH writeup is accurate.
Daily Mail article says: The dispute, coupled with Israel's military operation in Gaza, also pushed oil up to a three-week high of $49.91 in New York yesterday.
Those two things happened five years ago, not recently.
Yes, but the html source code for the article contains the code,
<meta property="article:published_time" content="2015-01-15T06:47:56.763Zyyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss z" />
Also other publications picked it up today. For example,
http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/26808/53/
?????
edit: last link picked up story from ZH.
edit2: I guess you're right. The time of the source code above changed from when I posted it a few hours ago. So that date must not be the date it was published.
the Daily Mail article was published iover 6 years ago.
See below.
Who fucked up today and why?
another question:
will Russia's hand be forced due to sloppy fact/source-checking?
Yes, it looks like you and Henry Hall are right. Even the Russian link I provided above says gas "will be redirected to Turkey". Similar wording in the Bloomberg article. So the entire story could be bogus.
like bill and ted bogus....
it seems that certain interests want to drive a further wedge between EU-Ukrainian-Russian relations.
The Daily Mail article is from 2009,
fucking hilarious.
This exact same Daily Mail article was being cited as a source during September 2014 on another message forum:
http://www.usmessageboard.com/threads/russia-starts-an-european-energy-c...
Tyler,
will there be an update to this post "Russia Cuts Off Ukraine Gas Supply To 6 European Countries" ?
or shall we wait for the Bloomberg redaction?
Sure hope so! Caught me off guard also. And the devious Daily Mail page doesnt date the article, leavining the impression that its current news. Bah.
The Bloomberg article is dated yesterday and mainly refers to the current visit to Russia of Sefcovic to whine about the EU having shot itself in the foot over South Stream. Putin probably shrugged his shoulders. So I don't see a need for Bloomberg to redact anything.
But the ZH article also quotes a Daily Mail article which is not current, despite it having today's date along the top edge. That simply gets updated automatically. As you/others have pointed out, it was quoted in another forum last September and appears to be dated from 2009.
So it looks like there's no change to report on Russian gas supply to the EU. ZH should probably publish a correction to this article.
lol
Sorosis
right now in the black forest its a cool, but not cold, 5 degrees C. The woods' piled high and the heat pump is doing its background thing quite nicely. The electric companies will be quick to raise the elec. despite the low direct connection to nat. gas.
good thing we got away from coal.
i really do feel like when gettinghornswaggled in chess. gotta hand it to Vlad. that gut punch isn't a knockout blow but a VERY clear signal. i'm sure its a tad chillier up in kiev though and my heart is with the novorussians who are victims of geopolitica Sorosis. being bombed flat in the freezing cold must suck.
Meanwhile Erdogan is lighting up his dominicans with petrodollars or natodollars and filling his oligarchical rucksak with rubles.
Anyone want to open up a gas transport company with me? We can call it bosphoros gas trucking.
you know that this entire post by ZH and the sources cited are questionable (inaccurate) representations of current reality?
the question now is whether or not Putin/Gazprom will make someone's sick fantasies come true...
No Trader1,
Expand on your one sentence theory. 'the question now is whether or not Putin/Gazprom will make someone's sick fantasies come true'...
Wildbad pegged the fact.
Wildbad pegged an opinion based on a false representation of current realities.
sorry to burst bubbles, but that's a fact.
My bubble has not shattered. What is your explanation on 'current realities'? I enjoy learning about facts. Hands you a microphone with lime lighting on your stage. ZH audience is beckoning for your speech.
Business Insider news outlet is a cesspool of liberal propaganda. The fight club has a higher IQ regarding Finance and Geopolitical issue’s, along with the Financial Times. (several posters are well ahead of this game, continue exploiting).
http://www.businessinsider.com/ Goebbels’s reporting tactics.
True but I have to give them credit for rerunning the Charlie Hebdo cartoons and for showing the cover of the latest edition. No other liberal news media in the US has done that.
If tis true that Ukraine is stealing gas then instead of bashing Russia the EU should bash Ukraine.
even if it is true, why is ZH citing a Daily Mail source from 2009?
I just sited two links regarding Marxism from 1967/1970. We post these dated clips to help you learn the potential outcome of your future. Example, from Cleveland OH in 1970. Ask yourself, is this a person you want to become?
Dorothy Fuldheim vs Jerry Rubin 1970
marx will have one of the last laughs, but not necessarily the last one.
Mistakes happen: Daily Mail article wasn't dated, NG futures way up, and Bloomberg article could have been misinterpreted if it wasn't read carefully. Kudos to all those like you who figured this out quickly though.
I don't see a date though on that DM article. The Bloomberg article is from today. I have not seen it anywhere else though. Whatsup?
Stop paying your gas or electric bill, see what happens. The Jews that left Paris are back in the Ukraine stirring up shit.
They should bash the Ukies, but they won't. The EU is a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs.
Kiev gang and Oligarchs have been and will steal all they can, that is what parasites do.
The EU are helping US in Kiev, to steal the gas, as they have failed to negotiate over the mines in Donbass, to buy coal for their furnaces!
In truth, they knew they'd lost, when Putin annexed Crimea. Which is why they have tried to place pressure on Russia, without any proof!
EU and US deserve all they get, their greed is coming back to bite them on the arse!
http://failedevolution.blogspot.gr/2015/01/a-unique-opportunity-for-gree...
Here is RT's take on it (I know, it is RT but hey...):
http://rt.com/business/222619-bulgaria-south-stream-gazprom/
Seems somehow different than how ZH presents it.
Gazprom scraps South Stream and now wants to route gas to Europe either via 'risky' Ukraine or via Turkey (not so risky??).
This is a major development cause Russia's got the EU by the balls. They already had but now they are squeezing the hand a bit further. With SS there was a chance of getting some reliable flow of gas coming to Europe but now it is either via Ukraine or Turkey. So Russia is now rubbing shoulders with Turkey while at the same time the EU and Turkey are having bad relations.
The EU is fucked but that was the plan all along. The EU tried to play hard ball over SS putting all sorts of demands but they overplayed their hand. This will also not go down well in Bulgaria, Hungary and Austria that were pushing SS. Greece is getting a new left government soon (to be expected) that wants debt restructuring and blackmails the EU with that. So coincidence that the new gas rout might go via Greece?
I am not pro Putin but he plays chess better than the EU. He is trying to put a wedge between EU countries.
Edit: there you have it. Hungary already proposing new gas route via Greece, Macedonia and Serbia to Hungary.
http://www.b92.net/eng/news/business.php?yyyy=2015&mm=01&dd=14&nav_id=92869
The countries involved : Rumenia , Bulgaria , Greece , Macedonia , Croatia . We must remember that the 25 of this month there are the elections in Greece, Not enough heating gas would possibly push the electors against the EU puppets ....... In Bulgaria people are already complaing for the loss of possibile income due to the shutting down of the South Stream project ..
The Puppets in charge of the EU have offended Russia .....and the Russians when offended they cut off relations with the offender ......EU of the idiots has made a terrible mistake .......and they will pay
Many writers here seem to think that Putin is in the same position as the Arabian oil states in the 1970's.
He isn't. In those far-off days the Arabs really could put their hands in their pockets and simply stop delivering. No bad effects for the suppliers other than some well costs (because cannot shut wells down entirely without reserve losses). Plenty of FX reserves in comparison to government spending.
Putin is _not_ in this position. Russian government spending is enormous _and keeps Putin in power_.
If the dollars don't come in he is at real _personal_ risk - and selling oil and gas is about all he has got.
Geography and cost considerations put the big pipelines across Ukraine.
That doesn't mean they are protected from sabotage and theft.
The surprise is that Putin hasn't put in alternative routes - but I bet it is a _very_ high Putin priority.
Watson
The oil embargo by the Arabs of the 70s was one of the best things that happened to.....the West. Or actually to Western banks and financial institutions. After the US abandoned the gold standard, the petrodollar got off the ground. The oil embargo made oil more expensive and the oil was paid for in dollars. Once of a sudden the Arabs were stuck with all these dollars. What to do with them? Buy Western stuff of course! But when they bought everything they wanted they were still stuck with a lot of dollars. Where to put them? Somewhere safe --> Western banks. So every westener filling up his car was financing the Arabs and western banks.
Anyway, you are right to some point. Putin needs income from oil and gas but at the same time he is diversifying routes of supply (the new route via Turkey and Greece), getting new customers and making contracts bypassing the dollar. Russia is hurting with the sanctions but what they accomplish is what I wrote above. Europe is fucked. Instead of having stable relations with Russia, now Europe has a big energy problem. And why? Over Ukraine, which everybody just should have left alone but dollar must stay king because them petrodollars must keep flowing to western banks.
The best thing out of the 1970's oil embargo what the start of 'energy efficiency' in everything from home heating to fuel efficient cars.
The only problem is that the process slowed/stopped when far, far more could be done.
It is in Putin's interest to make, and get paid for, large scale deliveries of oil and gas.
It is in Europe's interest to restart the process of using oil and gas more efficiently.
Saudi was always the Arab country wanting to keep oil prices down.
When I worked there I was told this was because:
1. they believed they had 100's of years of supply, but were very concerned about the possible savings consumers could make with only modest expenditure on efficiency gains;
2. they (even in those days) were aware of possible scientific advances for solar - and, if so, thought the Southern US states would be very large scale producers of electricity.
Watson
Interesting points Watson,
What I think that Europe needs to do is to go full throttle with renewable energies along with increasing efficienties in applyiances. Germany already in summer produces more electricity from wind and solar energy than from thermal power plants. The EU needs to increase investments into these energies and in hydroenergy and nuclear fusion. Already there are some experimental sites where wind and/or solar energy produces hydrogen that is stored for later use. That would make Europe energy independent.
Very valid point.
A Cretan electric Engineer named Kalogerakis has done just that.
Everything and I mean everything is produced at his home.
Solar energy, wind powered energy, and Alcohol energy with fermentation, which is derived from fuit and in his backyard he has sugarcane. The fermentation process is powered from his Solar and wind power when in excess.
Extra Olive Oil from his olive orchard, that powers tractor engne (30% more efficient than the diesel one) for anything to do with heavy powered demand.
(The old olive oil unsuitable for consumption is 30 cents slightly more expensive than diesel, that then involves .Gov)
The beauty of all this is that, His energy is solved now in over 19-20 years. Trully off the Grid.
He is also going into Hydrogen production with the extra electricity that he cannot sell as the State Hoodlums will pay him a visit. As this is Crete and if the idea spreads the state cannot do anything at all .
Crete is famous for being armed to the teeth.
If what you propose is taken further by the Greeks and the Southern Italians there will be a divorce from the northern Europeans in the level of Production as the energy will be minimal.
We are at the trheshhold of monumental changes. Political, Production of goods and economic.
The production of German cars is going to be astronomical.
The Mediterrenean countries can afford to research for the better products.
Thanks for this. Will research that.
Here an article about an experimental hydrogen project in Italy http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1262166
The MED has plenty of remenable potential such as solar, tidal and wind energy to make hydrogen energy possible.
Did they also tell you that back in the 70s/80s Opec members inflated their so-called "proven oil reserves" numbers because Opec production quotas were based upon known reserves?
This led to widespread uplifting/falsification of numbers to the point that nobody really knew/knows exactly what reserves actually exist and the rulers (Saudi in particular) don't produce useful data. The only person who got somewhere near the truth about Saudi's Ghawar field was Matt Simmons who calculated that it had a water cut of around 40%, now closer to 50%. He died suddenly soon after his report/book was published.
A lot of 'technology' has been suppressed by these Oil producing nations. Look at Tesla and the inventions US stole from him, especially the 1000mpg car, via G H Bushes father, Prescott Scherff/Bush, who was a Nazi in WW2?
http://youtu.be/YTjYHnpJjEE
http://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2014/12/all-bushes-illegal-to-hold-any-public-office-says-leo-wanta-3083898.html
Here's a picture of the young G H Bush and his father, sitting with; Mengele, Bormann and Hitlers assassin Skorzeny >
http://www.proliberty.com/observer/20070405.htm
I don't know if you've noticed, but the 'petrodollar' is slipping and the reason US are pushing Russia towards a war is because they want to leave it too. Russia, along with China and other BRIC's nations, want to form a Eurasian trade bloc, similar to EU and use their own currency. At present, Putin sells his oil for physical gold or USD, when he receives USD he buys physical gold with it. US have made it easy for him, as they are suppressing the gold price, to maintain strength in the petrodollar, so he buys physical gold cheap? He's banned Russian banks from holding USD.
Why have US not sanctioned China too? Well, remember the Hong Kong umbrella protest? That was US attempt at Regime Change, which so far has been applied to Arab Spring, Serbia, Georgia, now Ukraine, but China were wise to the event, they also hold Trillions in US Treasury Bonds (US Debt) and can bankrupt the US overnight!
Go back to Iraq 2003, this was also about saving the petrodollar. After Desert Storm, 2000, Saddam asked UN if he could sell his Oil in Euros, they agreed in 2002, next year US marched in lynched Saddam and placed the oil back on the market for dollars, they did exactly the same in Libya, after Gaddafi advertised his oil, for Gold-Dinar. This gold has still not been found?
http://beforeitsnews.com/economics-and-politics/2014/12/paul-craig-rober...
The story is really about the European Commission Vice-Pres For Energy Union, Maros Sefcovic going to Moscow on January 14, 2015 to put the Russkies in their place over the South Stream pipeline.
South Stream was proposed by Russia as the second part of their plan to bypass the Ukraine gas transit problems, which had led to Russia cutting off gas through Ukraine in 2006 and 2009. The first part was the "North Stream" line under the Baltic to Germany (completed in 2012).
The US was pushing the EC to favor the Southern Corridor line proposals to bring gas from the Caspian basin and Middle East, arguing that the EU should diversify their suppliers away from Russia. The US/EC favored lines were Nabucco, TANAP, and TAP.
After Russia signed contracts in 2008 for South Stream with the EU nations along the South Stream route, the EC tried to throw a wrench in the South Stream project by enacting their "Third Energy Package" which envisaged a gas pipeline grid throughout the EU but contained "competition rules" that said no party could both own and send all the gas via a pipeline. This was an attempt to force Russia and Gazprom to hand over a large piece of the ownership and control of the line and to give the EC leverage to force reductions in the price of gas (as well as extend the EC bureaucratic control over gas distribution and negotiations with Russia for gas). Gazprom continued with construction on the Russian end, while trying to negotiate with the EC. Bulgaria, Hungary, and Austria said they would honor their contracts with Russia and ignore the EC rules. The EC threatened to sue them. Then the head of Bulgaria got visited by John McCain and announced that Bulgaria would follow EC rules and refuse to issue permits for construction of the line (June?, 2014).
Putin then announced on December 1st that, since the EU did not want South Stream, it would not be built. Instead the line and its 63 Billion cubic metres of gas per year would be diverted to Turkey in the new Turk Stream line. The EC went into denial, saying South Stream was not dead, that all the objections to South Stream would magically disappear, that Putin's decision was not final, and that Russia was invited to negotiate further. Bulgaria and other countries along the route stand to lose multiBillion-dollar construction activity, direct access to gas, and transit fees of about $500 Million per year each. Russia ignored their invitations to negotiate further.
Then ECVP Sefcovic said he was going to Moscow on Jan. 14 to explain to the Russians why South Stream would go ahead and why it would be built according to EC rules. Alexei Miller, head of Gazprom, told him:
"FU. South Stream will not be built. You idiots blew the deal. The gas that is now flowing through Ukraine will be sent to Turkey instead once the Turk Stream line is built. If the EU wants the 63 Billion Cubic metres of gas per year, the EU will have to arrange pipelines to connect with the Turk Stream hub at the Turk/Greek border. Stuff your Third Energy Package. You can take your pompous ass and haughty attitude back to Brussels. And kiss my ass on the way out" (my paraphrasing).
In the meantime, the Nabucco line was cancelled in June/July 2013 after Azerbaijan chose to send its Caspian Sea gas via the TAP project via Turkey-Greece-Albania-Italy, instead of via the TANAP line to Nabucco and then into the eastern EU. Nabucco/TANAP would have carried much more gas, and potential suppliers were touted as including Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Israel, Egypt, and Qatar. BUT the US ruled out Iran, Iraq is unstable, and Assad in Syria stands in the way of Egypt, Israel, and Qatar gas coming into Turkey to connect to Nabucco, leaving insufficient gas to justify construction. Hence the attempts to depose Assad. The US was ready to invade Syria and take out Assad, allegedly because Assad had WMDs, but Putin intervened and brokered a plan for Syria to surrender its chemical weapons. So the attempt was made to remove Assad via the Free Syrian Army and, when the FSA failed, via ISIS.
Turkey has been a member of NATO since 1952, and has been trying to join the EU for about 20 years, but the EU keeps refusing to finalize entry. After Putin's Dec. 1 announcement, PM Erdogan has told the EU that Turkey is giving up on EU membership, and is not too happy with NATO, either. It appears Turkey is now looking to increase its ties with the Eurasian trade bloc, and feels much freer to throw its weight around as the new gas conduit to the EU. Greece may be emboldened to tell the EC/ECB/IMF troika that Greece will take major write-downs of Greek debt in exchange for allowing EU pipelines to take gas from the Turk/Greek border gas hub.
The cat is among the EU pigeons. And the pigeons are starting to see where they stand.
That nicely sums it up. Liked the paraphrasing.
Thanks, nice piece.
The arrogant EU apparatchiks are also running out of feet to shoot themselves in, like their masters in Washington.
+100
If this was a currently accurate news article, it would be big news. Huge news. It isn't, so it isn't current or accurate.
Or it is kept under wraps. You know, people might get worried or might doubt the news that is fed to them.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/15/us-ukraine-crisis-mobilisation...
Lot of interesting headlines this morning...
http://www.reuters.com/places/russia
The end of winter is approaching. Time for those spring offenses I guess.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/13/us-energy-iran-rouhani-idUSKBN...
(Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday that countries behind the fall in global oil prices would regret their decision and warned that Saudi Arabia and Kuwait would suffer alongside Iran from the price drop.
"Those that have planned to decrease the prices against other countries will regret this decision," Rouhani said in a speech broadcast on state television as oil plunged to near six year lows on international markets.
"If Iran suffers from the drop in oil prices, know that other oil-producing countries such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait will suffer more than Iran," he added...
...Earlier this month, Iran described Saudi Arabia's inaction in the face of the six-month price slide as a strategic mistake, but hoped that the kingdom, Tehran's main rival in the Gulf, would respond.
On Tuesday, Rouhani singled out Kuwait and Saudi Arabia's budget dependency on oil exports.
Data showed that 80 percent of Saudi Arabia's budget is based on oil sales, while in Kuwait the figure stands at 95 percent, he said in a speech in the city of Bushehr.
In 2013, oil accounted for roughly 90 percent of Saudi Arabia's overall budget income and Kuwait at 92 percent, according to Reuters' calculations based on official data.
On the other hand, only one-third of Iran's budget is based on oil sales, with an estimated 60 percent of the country's exports tied to oil, Rouhani said.
China arrests 10 Turks who may have helped terror suspects: Global Times
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/14/us-china-xinjiang-idUSKBN0KN0B...
(Reuters) - Police in Shanghai have arrested 10 Turkish nationals suspected of supplying fake passports to ethnic Uighurs from China's far-western region of Xinjiang who were described as terrorist suspects by state media.
Hundreds of people have been killed in resource-rich Xinjiang, strategically located on the borders of central Asia, in violence in the past two years between the Muslim Uighur people and ethnic majority Han Chinese.
Another 11 people, including nine Xinjiang "terror suspects", were also detained in November while trying to leave China after paying 60,000 yuan ($9,700) for altered Turkish passports, the state-run Global Times newspaper reported.
===========
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/whos-afraid-of-sibel-edm...
It seems that Putin just jewed some folks in europe.
Now we are finding out who really needs who.
Now we are finding out who really needs who.
The Daily Mail article is illustrated with an image of Putin as PRIME MINISTER. Other references in the story also indicate it is an old one.
The recent Russian item is statements about the future, re South Stream being cancelled and Turkish Stream to relace it.
There is no suggestion the gas is CURRENTLY restricted. If it happens it will be all over EVERY news outlet, because they would all scream about it.
Re Donbass -- yes Kiev could try to cut off Donbass, except a 26-year-0disused old pipe into DonbAss was repaired and reopened in November, so the Republics get their own supply directly, so Kiev cannot close it down.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1106382/Europe-plunged-energy-cr...
As Victoria Nuland said, "FUCK THE EU."
OK, after all the dust has settled ... check out
http://www.brecorder.com/fuel-a-energy/193/1142492/
This is a bit of a read, but well worth the time:
http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/2015/01/peculiarities-of-russian-national....
The biggest cost in the natural gas supply line is the cost of transporting it. Russia was footing the bill for South Stream, but that was not good enough for EU--so Russia decided to cut its losses and killed South Stream. Now Russia will foot the bill for transport up to the Turkey/Greece border. After that, if EU wants gas they can build and pay for pipelines. If they do not get these pipelines built before Russia finds another buyer for this gas, well...tough luck EU....as soon as another buyer contracts for the gas, it becomes unavailable to EU.
Of course, EU can buy LNG....but they might not like either the price or the unreliability of delivery.
Russia's free ride for EU is OVER!
EU can cry as much as they want, but if they are looking for sympathy, they can still find it in the dictionary--between shit and syphilis
Total bullshit