Russian Oil and Gas Industry: News #3

kvs wrote:

Hole wrote:Is there a state-owned insurance company in Russia? If yes then this should be no problem. If no then it is time to start one.

It is a never ending game of move the goal posts.   The EU will not certify such a company so the problem will remain.

JohninMK wrote:

kvs wrote:

Hole wrote:Is there a state-owned insurance company in Russia? If yes then this should be no problem. If no then it is time to start one.

It is a never ending game of move the goal posts.   The EU will not certify such a company so the problem will remain.

It is common for companies to self insure if they have the assets to back the risk. Gazprom is probably large enough, and the Russian State definitely so, to do that.

JohninMK wrote:
Germany has achieved progress in negotiations with the US concerning the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which Washington wants to prevent from being completed, and expects talks on the issue to be held soon, the head of the German Bundestag Committee on Economic Affairs and Energy, Klaus Ernst, said. Ernst noted, however, that one topic will be off-limits in these talks – the sovereignty of Germany and the European Union.

"I hail the fact that the US now wants to exempt European governments and their bodies from [Nord Stream 2] sanctions. These talks are bound to happen. [...] Now [Germany's] federal government has to unambiguously indicate during these talks that the sovereignty of Germany and the EU are not up for discussion", Ernst said.

The German lawmaker also praised the "creative ideas" of the country's federal states, which may allow private companies to dodge the American sanctions against the pipeline. Ernst referred to a recent report by the newspaper Bild, claiming that Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's authorities are mulling creating a climate protection foundation that will designate Nord Stream 2 as a crucial piece to protect the environment in the German state and will allow private companies to provide their services to the pipeline indirectly. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's officials refused to comment on the report.
New Nord Stream 2 Sanctions Negotiated in US Congress

An apparent breakthrough in talks between the US and the EU regarding the joint megaproject, funded by Russia's Gazprom and several European energy giants, comes after the US Congress reached a compromise on the annual National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA), which among other things contains provisions for sanctions against Nord Stream 2.

According to the document, any companies that facilitate the construction of the pipeline, for example, by providing it with pipe-laying vessels will be targeted with US sanctions. Government entities, however, will no longer fall into the eligible category, thus allowing them to certify the pipeline for operation. Previously, Norwegian-German certification company Det Norske Veritas – Germanischer Lloyd said it would cease working on certifying vessels involved in the project, but denied stopping the inspections of the pipeline itself.

https://sputniknews.com/europe/202012041081359821-sovereignty-of-germany-eu-not-up-for-discussion-in-talks-with-us-on-nord-stream-2-lawmaker-says/

US Signals Readiness To Discuss Lifting Of Nord Stream 2 Sanctions

The stalled dispute over Nord Stream 2 is moving: For the first time, the USA is signaling that it is ready to talk about an end to the US sanctions against the controversial Baltic Sea pipeline from Russia to Germany. The Americans, however, expect the German side to move too and submit a proposal.

"The Germans have to put a package solution on the table," a US official involved in the talks told Handelsblatt. "Otherwise we will not be able to get the issue of Nord Stream 2 out of the way" - a clear sign that Washington wants to resolve the conflict over the gas pipeline. The US wants to prevent Europe's dependence on Russian natural gas from growing further and Ukraine from being decoupled from the European gas infrastructure.

kvs wrote:Self insurance is not enough.   That is a smug retort and I would rather believe the cited expert.   It really is not that
easy.  Compare to any self-insurance of a contractor you hire.   They could be using some fly by night insurance company
that will leave you with nothing.   So Gazprom can't just declare that it can self-insure and have the EU treat that as
if it is all the same.  

The claim about "common to self-insure" leaves out the show-stopper regulatory detail and is thus so much hot air.

Hole wrote:Norway supplies nearly as much gas to the EU as Russia. So much to the dependancy.
.............
Before we build terminals for LNG the muricans should finish there own and show that they can deliver LNG. Talking is cheap (unless you are Barack Obongo and receive a few hundred thousend bucks for a speech).

GarryB wrote:
Clearly the US wants Russian gas to continue to flow though the Ukraine, so the first thing Russia needs to do is stop all gas flow through the Ukraine and block up the pipes so they can't be used.

It is expected that Gazprom will transit at least 65 billion cubic meters of natural gas via Ukraine next year, then at least 40 billion per year from 2021 to 2024, said Zelensky, earning Kyiv “more than seven billion dollars”.

kvs wrote:Yeah, Kiev never got any commitments from Gazprom about the volume of shipments.   Kiev would never have been able to
get such a clause in the contract anyway.

I will repeat: Russia needs to transition to LNG exports.   Then sell to the highest bidder.   For example, we saw LNG prices jump
to over $1000 per thousand cubic meters this winter in the far east.    But contracted pipeline supplies are sold for around $200
per tcm and are tied to the unrelated oil price.    Gazprom is pissing away a precious resource.   I will call this to be one
of Putin's fails.   EU-tards are giving Russia a wonderful pretext to move to LNG, but Russia is trying to finish NS 2.   Give them
fuckers what they want and they will rue the day and soon.