Tag: Gas

Top officials at the Commission and one of Central Europe's largest oil and gas groups yesterday (2 July) called for progress to be made on the Nabucco project, which aims to reduce Europe's dependency on Russian gas supplies. But they warned that its realisation would depend on "foreign policy scenarios".

As the EU embarks on a third wave of energy liberalisation, some voices are warning that the gas sector must be treated with extra caution as the current proposals are causing tensions with Europe's largest supplier, Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is ending his term by sealing a deal on the South Stream gas pipeline, a project perceived as a rival to the EU's flagship Nabucco pipeline aimed at decreasing Europe's dependency on Russian gas.

A reciprocity clause in trade and investment is necessary to prevent a massive sell-out of strategic EU energy assets to foreign companies such as Russia's Gazprom, a senior Commission official insisted at a debate on energy liberalisation this week.

10 billion cubic metres of natural gas are set to flow from Turkmenistan into EU markets as of next year, it emerged on Monday, and the EU may clinch a deal for Iraqi gas later on this week.

Gaz de France's intention to become the seventh partner in the Nabucco pipeline project has been thwarted by Turkey's decision to block the participation of the company following a motion by the French Parliament to outlaw denial of the Armenian genocide.

Andris Piebalgs, the European Union's energy commissioner, has welcomed an announcement that Ukraine and Russia have resolved a dispute over gas trade. But recent comments from Moscow and Kyiv have thrown the details of the agreement into confusion.

With the price of crude oil hitting $100 per barrel, European citizens must prepare for large increases in gas and electricity bills in the coming weeks, with major companies in the UK and France already announcing plans to raise prices by as much as 27%.

Despite the obvious advantages of natural gas, it has had to overcome many obstacles before playing its major role on the international energy scene, writes Alain Beltran in an article for Energies magazine, a publication by French oil company Total.

While oil resources are declining and countries are seeking to diversify their energy supply, there are large reserves of natural gas and an increasing number of uses to which it can be put. The future for gas therefore looks bright, argues Yves Mathieu in an article for 'Energies' magazine, a publication of the major French oil company Total.

The European Commission has opened a formal investigation against German energy giant E.ON and Gaz de France for allegedly agreeing to keep out of one another's home market, thereby thwarting competition and keeping prices artificially high.

The Commission has won an end to territorial restrictions and profit-sharing agreements that previously prevented European companies reselling Algerian gas into EU markets. At the same time, the Commission has given its support to a new pipeline that will bring Nigerian gas into the EU through Algeria.

The Parliament's Industry, Energy and Research (ITRE) committee has voted in favour of a report that supports the full liberalisation of electricity markets, rejecting an earlier proposal that called for continued ownership of distribution networks. The report also makes an important distinction between the liberalisation of gas and electricity markets. 

Former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder visited Brussels in his new capacity as a high-rank advisor to the company created to operate the disputed Baltic Sea gas-pipeline project.

Ukraine has up to 25 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas stored for the coming winter, an EU co-ordination group on gas supply was told on 6 October.

Concerns about Russia dominated an energy security debate amongst influential American and EU politicians and business leaders during the first annual Brussels Forum on 30 April.

Belarus is facing a steep price hike on Russian natural gas - and analysts say this could hit the country's economy hard.

To improve security of energy supply and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the EU has set itself the objective of a 10% substitution of traditional fuels in the road transport sector (gasoline and conventional diesel) by alternative fuels before the year 2020. Three alternative solutions are seen as promising: biofuels, natural gas and hydrogen.

The Austrian Presidency wants to speed up the construction of new pipelines and to increase the share of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) fivefold to diversify EU supply and transit routes.

By openly questioning the Russian restrictions on NGOs and Chechnya, Germany's new Chancellor Merkel has struck a different chord in the relations between Moscow and Berlin.

The EU Presidency is calling for a negotiated solution to the latest natural gas price dispute between Russia and Moldova. Bulgaria and Turkey are also affected.

The gas dispute between Russia and the Ukraine underlines the need for a common European energy policy. Europe's increasing dependence on insecure energy suppliers will put its long-term economic future at risk.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has struck a conciliatory note on her first visit to Poland, saying good relations with Poland and Russia were equally important for her new government.