Pipeliners

MOSCOW, October 30 (RIA Novosti) - The construction cost of a branch of the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline to pump oil to China is estimated at $600 million in current prices, the pipeline operator Transneft said on Thursday. Russia and China signed on Tuesday an agreement for the construction of a pipeline branch to the energy-hungry Asian giant. The construction could start later this year. The branch, to run from Skovorodino to the Chinese border, would have a capacity of 15 million tons (110 million barrels) of oil a year. The ESPO pipeline is designed to pump up to 1.6 million barrels (220,000 tons) of crude per day from Siberia to Russia's Far East and then on to China and the Asia-Pacific region. A 1,100-km (680-mile) stretch of the pipeline was opened in early October in Russia's Far Eastern republic of Yakutia. ESPO's first stage envisages the construction of a 2,757-kilometer (1,713-mile) section with a capacity of 30 million tons (220 million barrels) of oil per year. It will link Taishet, in East Siberia's Irkutsk Region, to Skovorodino, in the Amur Region, in Russia's Far East. The second stretch will run 2,100 kilometers (1,304 miles) from Skovorodino to the Pacific. It will pump 50 million tons (367.5 million barrels) of oil annually. The Taishet-Skovorodino capacity will later be raised to 80 million tons (588 million barrels).

27 October 2008 - New Europe by Kostis Geropoulos - Nord Stream is an offshore pipeline project and it will stay that way, Nord Stream AG spokeswoman Irina Vasilyeva told New Europe from Moscow, dismissing calls to build the pipeline over land. “This is an investment decision taken by the company’s shareholders ... and all the requirements will be fulfilled within the study works and the environmental impact assessment we are doing now and will submitted later this year,” she said, adding that the EU has recognised Nord Stream as a priority energy project, with the status of a “Trans-European Network (TEN), which means it is in the interest of Europe and therefore it is not in the interest of any member state to block it as you are suggesting.” Go tell the Estonians! A week earlier, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet told New Europe in Astana that his country would like “to see that also the alternative on mainland will be researched.” This is a last ditch attempt by the Baltic States, which have being objecting to the pipeline from day one, to get some kind of influence. “The Russians will not go for it. (Russia said from the get-go) the very purpose of running it under the Baltic Sea is to bypass countries so that they don’t have to depend on intermediaries who are sitting across the pipeline so I think it’s a no-go,” Ron Smith, chief strategist at Moscow’s Alfa Bank, told New Europe. Paet claimed that Nord Stream AG, owned by Russian energy monopoly Gazprom, the German Wintershall and E.ON and the Dutch Nederlandse Gasunie, did not want to investigate a real alternative overland and the Baltic pipeline could affect the fragile sea in a devastating manner. “For us with Nord Stream there is one big problem or question mark and it is environmental one. Because actually we don’t understand why the Nord Stream company never didn’t analyse or research a real alternative and a real alternative should be on the mainland because the Baltic Sea is a very fragile sea environment,” Paet said. Vasilyeva reminded that there was a feasibility study carried out from 1997 to 1999 by Gazprom and Finland’s Neste (later known as Fortum) which identified that the best and most feasible route “from a technical, economic and environmental point of view” to transport additional amounts of gas from Russia to Europe was across the Baltic Sea. There are also no compressor stations needed along the sea route. She said Nord Stream, which was set up to cover the additional demand in Germany, France and the UK, is neither a substitute nor an alternative to any onland lines, like Yamal II. Chris Weafer, chief strategist at Moscow’s UralSib Bank said Germany, which is keen to have the pipeline built and needs the gas, has managed to deflect the political objections while Russia has simply ignored them. Now the Baltic States and Poland have shifted away from the political angle — i.e. this is Russia looking to bypass us and reducing our energy security — and are now focusing on the environmental concerns and high cost in their efforts to get the original decision reversed. However, neither the Baltic States nor Poland are among the fivepermit issuing countries — Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany – whose territorial waters Nord Stream is going to cross. “This process is ongoing we are fulfilling all the necessary national requirements,” Vasilyeva said. A prominent Russian diplomat and associate of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told New Europe that Tallinn cannot do anything. “What does Estonia want? Nord Stream doesn’t go through its territory and for a good reason,” he quipped. A couple of weeks ago, when Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in St Petersburg, there was a very strong and clear reconfirmation of commitment to the Russian- German project from both sides. The fact that there is a deal now done between Gazprom and Germany’s E.ON and BASF on the Yuzhno-Russkoye field, which will be the primary source of this gas, ties it all in and it doesn’t seem as if either side is in any mood to allow any small, annoying European countries to spoil that.

RBC, 28.10.2008, Moscow 15:43:06.Transneft and the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) have signed an agreement on the construction and use of an oil pipeline that is expected to stretch from the Russian town of Skovorodino situated in the Amur region to the Chinese border. The document was signed by Transneft President Nikolai Tokarev and head of CNPC Jiang Jiemin following a regular meeting between Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao. The project provides for the construction of a 67-kilometer extension of the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline. Transneft and CNPC have already prepared the necessary project documentation and submitted it to the Russian government.

RBC, 27.10.2008, Moscow 19:58:59 – The Russian government today ratified an intergovernmental agreement between Russia, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan on cooperation in building the Pre-Caspian gas pipeline, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov told journalists today. The accord was signed by the countries on December 20, 2007. Russian Energy Minister Anatoly Yanovsky announced earlier that his ministry was hoping Russia would ratify the document by the end of 2008. The pipeline is expected to pump up to 10bn cubic meters of natural gas per year from Turkmenistan and around the same volume from Kazakhstan. Construction is projected to start in the second half of 2009 and completed no later than in 2010. Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov and Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller expressed their interest in starting the laying of the pipeline as soon as possible.

MOSCOW, October 28 (RIA Novosti) - Russia and China signed on Tuesday an agreement for the construction of a pipeline branch to China as part of the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) oil pipeline. It was earlier reported that construction could start later this year. The branch, which runs from Skovorodino to the Chinese border, will have a capacity of 15 million tons of oil a year. The ESPO pipeline is designed to pump up to 1.6 million barrels of crude per day from Siberia to Russia's Far East and then onto energy-hungry China and the Asia-Pacific region. A 1,100 km stretch of the pipeline was opened in early October in Russia's Far Eastern republic of Yakutia. ESPO's first stage envisages the construction of a 2,757-kilometer (1,713-mile) section with a capacity of 30 million tons (220.5 million bbl) of oil per year. It will link Taishet, in East Siberia's Irkutsk Region, to Skovorodino, in the Amur Region, in Russia's Far East. The second stretch will run 2,100 kilometers (1,304 miles) from Skovorodino to the Pacific. It will pump 367.5 million barrels of oil annually. The Taishet-Skovorodino capacity will later be raised to 588 million barrels.

Oct 24, 2008 - Scan Oil&Gas - The Nord Stream Shareholders’ Committee discussed the development of the pipeline through the Baltic Sea in a meeting on 20 October 2008. The Shareholders reviewed the project’s progress and confirmed that it is on schedule. The Shareholders’ Committee approved further contracts for supply of materials and construction work to be signed before end of this year. Nord Stream is the most advanced of all gas infrastructure projects designated as a “priority project” by the European Union. The Espoo report is currently being finalised. The draft will be submitted for final feedback to the relevant authorities within a month. Nord Stream and its Shareholders do not regard the financial crisis as an obstacle to financing the project. Shareholders will meet about 30 per cent of the project costs with equity contributions, with 70 per cent to be financed externally through limited recourse finance. The project remains attractive to lenders since it has strong backing from its Shareholders, a solid contractual framework and is an important infrastructure project in the energy market with long-term and stable returns. Nord Stream cooperates with renowned companies throughout Europe, which underscores the pan-European character of the project. These include Snamprogetti (Italy) for detailed design engineering; independent safety certification by Det Norske Veritas (DNV) (Norway); route surveys by Marin Mätteknik (Sweden), IfAÖ (Germany) and PeterGaz (Russia); Environmental Impact Studies by Ramboll (Denmark) and ERM (UK); pipe production by EUROPIPE (Germany) and OMK (Russia); concrete weight-coating and logistics by EUPEC (France). After N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie officially joined the Nord Stream consortium as fourth shareholder in June 2008, the Shareholders’ Committee representing OAO Gazprom, E.ON Ruhrgas AG, Wintershall Holding AG and Gasunie was expanded from eight to ten seats reflecting the shares in the project. The new members of the Committee are Marcel P. Kramer, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie, and Nikolai Dubik, Member of the Management Committee and Head of the Legal Department of OAO Gazprom.

October 23, 2008 - Rigzone News - The Nord Stream Shareholders' Committee discussed the development of the pipeline through the Baltic Sea in a meeting on October 20, 2008. The Shareholders reviewed the project's progress and confirmed that it is on schedule. The Shareholders' Committee approved further contracts for supply of materials and construction work to be signed before end of this year. Nord Stream is the most advanced of all gas infrastructure projects designated as a "priority project" by the European Union. The Espoo report is currently being finalized. The draft will be submitted for final feedback to the relevant authorities within a month.
Nord Stream Remains An Attractive Project for Banks: Nord Stream and its Shareholders do not regard the financial crisis as an obstacle to financing the project. Shareholders will meet about 30% of the project costs with equity contributions, with 70% to be financed externally through limited recourse finance. The project remains attractive to lenders since it has strong backing from its Shareholders, a solid contractual framework and is an important infrastructure project in the energy market with long-term and stable returns. Nord Stream cooperates with renowned companies throughout Europe, which underscores the pan-European character of the project. These include Snamprogetti (Italy) for detailed design engineering; independent safety certification by Det Norske Veritas (DNV) (Norway); route surveys by Marin Matteknik (Sweden), IfAO (Germany) and PeterGaz (Russia); Environmental Impact Studies by Ramboll (Denmark) and ERM (UK); pipe production by EUROPIPE (Germany) and OMK (Russia); concrete weight-coating and logistics by EUPEC (France).
New Members in Shareholders' Committee: After N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie officially joined the Nord Stream consortium as fourth shareholder in June 2008, the Shareholders’ Committee representing OAO Gazprom, E.ON Ruhrgas AG, Wintershall Holding AG and Gasunie was expanded from eight to ten seats reflecting the shares in the project. The new members of the Committee are Marcel P. Kramer, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie, and Nikolai Dubik, Member of the Management Committee and Head of the Legal Department of OAO Gazprom.

10-21-2008 - Orietta Moscatelli, head of the Italian Information Agency APCOM 'New Europe' project - The Nabucco project, the gas pipeline that should link Erzurum in Turkey to Austria, was born in Europe out of fears of growing energy dependence on Russia. A fear spread by the ‘gas war' with Ukraine in 2005-2006 and refreshed by the new Caucasus conflict this year. Strange as it may seem, however, these days in Brussels politicians and technicians are mumbling that, perhaps, Moscow should be invited to join: it has the primary good - gas - and the picture would not really change compared to one quarter of supplies EU gets from its Eastern giant neighbour. Bizarre at first glance, but it is a sign of pragmatism tempting the Old Continent after August's events, and at the same time, a confirmation of European doubts and divisions over how to deal with Russia. Two faces of a medal that both EU and Moscow should be careful when throwing into the air: on the side shown when it comes down will depend more than a new pipeline. Moreover, it is a very delicate time, as in a phase of global and scary financial crisis, the danger to lose momentum is bigger. So: what about a new sign to move forward. As a British colleague was pointing out recently, the August conflict has had at least one "sane" consequence: Europe has woken up feeling it should have a more independent voice when talking to Russia. How one (a European one) could not agree. A few concrete facts are showing that several European leaders are realizing it is dangerous to jump on the Us train when it comes to acting vis-a-vis to Russia, in the name of a Transatlantic cooperation that after 50 years can not count on simple make up any more. So much more, in a phase of ‘power void' in Washington and one of serious doubts about America leadership in the future. France's Nicolas Sarkozy seems to have realized that. Germany's Angela Merkel definitely has. Silvio Berlusconi came out from the European emergency summit in September telling the press he challenged his colleagues to explain what "disproportioned use of force" means and what would they consider a "proportionate" reaction to Georgian attack. We do not know the answers, but as a declared friend of both Mr Putin and Mr Bush, the Italian prime minister seems to have made a clear choice. Certainly, it is easier with an outgoing American administration, still it should not only be about that. In Brussels, though, at the last summit on October 15th, EU decided to take more time before re-launching negotiations with Russia on a new Strategic Partnership. "It is better to wait a bit", said French Foreign Affairs minister Bernard Kouchner. Poland, the Baltics, Britain and Sweden are against resuming talks, and the Big in Europe - starting from Germany - are saving the ‘unity dose' for more urgent dossiers, such as the financial crisis and the new dispute about measures to fight climate change. The differences about measures to reduce gas-emissions have taken the stage at the Luxembourg meeting, and the 27 will talk again about talking to Russia in November, when Italy and Germany will push again to break the ‘New European' barrier. The two countries have lead the campaign to resume discussions after Moscow withdrew its forces from parts of Georgia, as asked by the Sarkozy-brokered cease fire. But Great Britain is insisting that EU should wait on the result of the Geneva talks between Georgia and Russia in Geneva, where the first round last week was a total failure and where the next one, November 18th, could easily mark a new stand-off. Talking about risks of loosing momentum. So, something new is needed to move on. If a constructive message should come through from Moscow before the next European summit, things could get much easier. President Dmitri Medvedev is offering consultations about a new security architecture for the old Continent, but that season seems still too distant to chose a proper wardrobe. A proposal of cooperation against pollution, instead, might seem diminutive, but would be concrete enough to give a sign. A sign easy to read in Europe, also beyond diplomatic circles. In December, NATO will have to decide whether to invite Ukraine and Georgia into a Membership Action Plan (Map), the first step towards proper membership. It won't go ahead, most probably. But it would make a change if European allies could oppose US not out fears of a new fight with Russia, but out of hope in a really new, possible partnership.

20.10.2008 - Oil & Gas Eurasia - Russia's gas export monopoly Gazprom said on Friday it is considering building a new gas pipeline via Romania, as Russia seeks more partners to join its South Stream pipeline project. Gazprom said in a statement that its chief executive Alexei Miller had discussed gas cooperation with the head of Romanian state-owned gas pipeline operator Transgaz Ioan Rusu and the head of state-run gas producer Romgas Francisc Toth at their meeting in Moscow. "Prospects of cooperation in undeground gas storage issues were discussed at the meeting, as well as developing the existing transit capacities, as well as creating new ones," Gazprom said in a statement after the meeting. It also said its delegation will go to Romania soon to discuss the issues in more detail. A Gazprom spokesman declined to provide more details on the projects. Gazprom, the world's largest gas producer and supplier of a quarter of Europe's gas needs, is seeking more partners to join its and Italian energy major Eni's South Stream gas pipeline which will run Russian gas from the Black Sea to south-eastern Europe. Russia has already agreed to route the pipeline via Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Greece and is now in talks with Slovenia and Austria to join the project. Romania is a parter in another gas link, the EU and U.S.-backed Nabucco pipeline, which is expected to rival South Stream and take Caspian Sea gas to southern Europe. Europe has repeatedly stressed Nabucco is key for it to reduce dependence on Russian energy supplies.  - AFX News Limited 

10-20-2008 - News.bg by Olga Yoncheva - Last week the director of Gazprom Alexey Miller has conducted a series of talks in Moscow with the leaders of the Romanian companies “Transgas” and “Romgas” for supply of gas to Romania till 2030. This writes Komersant newspaper. According to the edition the possibilities for attracting Romania in the “South stream” project as well as the possibility the country to substitute Bulgaria have been discussed. A source from the Russian ministry of energy confirmed to “Komersant” that the possibility Bulgaria to be substituted by Romania in the project was being explored (in this case the route is shortened with 100 km), but refused to give details. Initially Romania was seen as an alternative to Serbia. However, in the last half year all legislative hurdles in the relations between Serbia and Romania within the “South stream” project were cleared up. The arrangements for the gas pipeline with Sofia, Budapest and Belgrade were reached in 2007. However, the Bulgarian authorities insist on the part of the pipeline which crosses Bulgarian territory to be property of the state, while “Gazprom” wants it to be Russian. Similar problems emerged in Serbia and Hungary. Apparently the main problem for the realization of the “South stream” project is not the impossibility for negotiations with the East European countries but the general mistrust of the European Union towards Russia and “Gazprom”. On the EU summit on 1 September this year the European leaders unanimously decided to distinguish the sources of energy supply. At first they will concentrate all their efforts in the implementation of the “Nabucco” project, which is a direct rival of “South stream” and should supply gas to Europe from the Caspian region by eliminating Russia. The Romanian company “Transgas” and the Bulgarian “Bulgargas” are shareholders in the “Nabucco” project. This is why the aim of the talks with Romania is to persuade Sofia or Bucharest participate in “South stream” and not “Nabucco”.

20 October 2008 - Russia Today - Independent advisory firm GCA says a gas field in Turkmenistan could hold the 4th largest gas deposits in the world. The field could hold enough to supply its current customers in Russia and China as well as become a reserve base for the Nabucco pipeline project. Turkmenistan's already significant gas reserves seem much bigger after this latest estimate. GCA audit company has confirmed that the Yolotan field near the Afghan border holds between 4 and 14 Trillion cubic meters of gas. That would make the gas field one of the largest in the world. By comparison, Gazprom’s offshore Shtokman field in Russia's Arctic has reserves of 3.7 trillion cubic meters. But Vitaly Ermakov, from Cambridge Energy Research Associates says production at Yolotan will require massive investment. “The costs may be in the order of $150 per MCM and upwards. Because that a new area, new gas fields, not traditional a new region, and it would require not only creating the production infrastructure but the transportation infrastructure as well.” In addition to existing customers like Russia and China, the EU may be particularly interested in investing. Turkmen authorities claim the country could produce up to150 billion cubic meter of gas per year. That leaves 47 billion cubic meters up for sale once existing contracts are taken into account. And that’s more than enough for the proposed EU-backed Nabucco pipeline which bypasses Russia, although Ermakov notes it will be available later rather than sooner. “This discovery potentially may mean that theres sufficient resource base that can supply Nabucco in the future. But it is not going to figure prominently as an actual source of supply for Nabucco until pretty late. Its post 2015, maybe even later than then.” Besides, Nabucco would have to be significantly longer to reach Yolotan. Gennady Shmal, Head of the Oil and Gas Union says that would add to the already vast cost of the project. “Nabucco can hardly compete with Russian projects like South and Nord streams. One kilometer of Nabucco costs twice as much as the Russian pipeline and with the current crisis it will be even more expensive.” Experts say Nabucco will be profitable only if demand for energy grows in the EU, pushing up prices. If the global crisis lead to a long-term recession, gas deliveries via current routes may be more than enough.

17 October 2008 - Upstream OnLine - Russian gas giant Gazprom said today it is considering building a new gas pipeline via Romania, as Russia seeks more partners to join its South Stream pipeline project. Gazprom said in a statement that its chief executive Alexei Miller had discussed gas co-operation with the head of Romanian state-owned gas pipeline operator Transgaz, Ioan Rusu, and the head of state-run gas producer Romgas, Francisc Toth, at a meeting in Moscow. "Prospects of co-operation in undeground gas storage issues were discussed at the meeting, as well as developing the existing transit capacities and creating new ones," Gazprom said in a statement after the meeting. It also said its delegation will go to Romania soon to discuss the issues in more detail. A Gazprom spokesman declined to provide more details on the projects. Gazprom is seeking more partners to join its and Italian player Eni's South Stream gas pipeline which will run Russian gas from the Black Sea to south-eastern Europe. Russia has already agreed to route the pipeline via Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Greece and is now in talks with Slovenia and Austria to join the project. Romania is a parter in another gas link, the EU and US-backed Nabucco pipeline, which is expected to rival South Stream and take Caspian Sea gas to southern Europe. Europe has repeatedly stressed Nabucco is key for it to reduce dependence on Russian energy supplies.

15 Oct. 2008 - Your Oil&Gas News - Iran plans to build a Persian Pipeline for shipping its natural gas to Europe that would be independent of the EU-backed Nabucco project, a senior Iranian official was quoted as saying on Monday. Iran, which has the worlds second-largest gas reserves after Russia, had previously suggested it could hook up to the planned Nabucco pipeline that is meant to bring Central Asian gas to Europe, bypassing Russia and reducing EU dependence on Moscow for energy. But analysts have said it was doubtful the 27-nation EU would support such a move, as the Islamic Republic is under U.N. and U.S. sanctions over its disputed nuclear programme. The sanctions have slowed Tehrans gas export plans. ""We have nothing to do with the Nabucco pipeline and since the European Union announced ... it does not need Irans gas we have designed a new plan independent of Nabucco,"" Akbar Torkan, head of Oil Ministry planning, told the ministrys website Shana. The Nabucco pipeline is due to bring 30 billion cubic metres of Caspian and Middle Eastern gas a year from Turkey to an Austrian gas hub via Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. EU support for the scheme has gained urgency since Russias invasion of Georgia in August stoked tensions with the West. Torkan said a number of European countries -- Turkey, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Italy and Greece -- were interested in buying gas from Iran. ""In an effort to respond to the needs of these (countries) the Persian gas pipeline will be constructed from Iran to Europe,"" Torkan said. ""There will be no competition with the Nabucco pipeline and the path of the Persian Pipeline ... is separate from the Nabucco pipeline,"" he said, without giving details on when it would be constructed and how much it would cost. Nabuccos shareholders are Austrias OMV, Hungarys MOL, Romanias Transgaz, Bulgarias Bulgargaz, Turkeys Botas and Germanys RWE. The pipeline is expected to cost around $12 billion. But there has been uncertainty that it can secure enough gas supplies from nations that were once part of the Soviet Union and are subject to intense lobbying by Russias Gazprom, whose planned South Stream pipeline will rival Nabucco. MOLs chief executive last month said Nabucco would become a reality if Iran comes on board as a supplier. The Nabucco consortium aims to ship gas through the first section of the link from 2013 and says it has already had indications of interest for more than twice the volume of gas the pipeline can carry.

15.10.2008 - [Neftegaz.RU] - Stroitransgaz, a Russian pipeline builder, partly owned by Gazprom, has signed a contract for the construction of a natural gas pipeline from Aleppo, in northern Syria, to the Turkish shore. The newsmaker is Syrian Oil Minister Sufian al-Alao who commented on this to the Syrian state-run news service Sana. The deal is worth $71 million. The length of the pipeline will be 62 km. The pipeline is to be built within 18 months. Syria began receiving gas from Egypt this year through a pipe that crosses Jordan and plans to import gas from Iraq's Akkas field, which is close to the border, by 2010. The Syrian section of the pipeline was also built by Stroitransgaz. Besides its projects in Syria, Stroitansgaz operates in Saudi Arabia, India and Algeria. It was granted the right to build the pipeline in the UAE in mid-2008.

14 October 2008 - Upstream OnLine - Russian gas export monopoly said today its top executives had visited US state Alaska, where the gas company is seeking a share in a project to pipe gas via Canada to the US market. Gazprom discussed gas production, transport and supply to Alaska - which shares a border to its east with Canada and a sea border with Russia to its west - with the region's officials and the chief executive of ConocoPhillips, Jim Mulva, Reuters quoted the company as saying in a statement. "Gazprom has accumulated great experience in exploring hydrocarbon deposits, building and using gas pipelines in the Far North environment,” it said in the statement. “Gazprom's experience will be relevant in realisation of similar projects in Alaska," It did not specify what projects were discussed. Gazprom's chief executive Alexei Miller, who headed the delegation, said in June his company wanted to join a gas pipeline project to pump the fuel from Alaska across Canada to the US market and had made a proposal to oil majors BP and ConocoPhillips. Gazprom, which already supplies a quarter of Europe's gas, has been actively eyeing a way into the north American market for several years. Earlier this week a French stakeholder in Canada's Rabaska liquefied natural gas terminal said Gazprom could get a 27% stake in the project. The terminal is due to be built by 2014, when Gazprom plans to launch its giant LNG project, Shtokman, on the Barents Sea.

//The Russian gas giant has been offered a stake in Canada’s gas terminal Rabaska
10-13-2008 - RBC News - Gazprom could take part in the construction of Canada’s LNG terminal Rabaska. The Russian gas monopoly was offered a 27 percent stake in the project, announced Jean-Francois Cirelli, Vice Chairman of GDF Suez. According to earlier reports, Gazprom had contracted 100 percent of the new terminal’s capacity for its LNG supplies from the Shtokman field. In this sense, Gazprom is getting a foothold on the North American market, even if the launch of the Shtokman project falls behind schedule. Cirelli said Gazprom could receive 27 percent in the LNG terminal Rabaska in the Canadian province of Quebec. Currently, the project is controlled by French energy giant GDF Suez, natural gas company GazMetro and Enbridge, Canada’s largest gas distribution company. Each of the three companies has a third in Rabaska. Gazprom’s entry into the project would reduce the stakes of the three partners, and Rabaska would be owned on a parity basis, according to Cirelli. He said Gazprom could either buy a stake and supply LNG to the terminal, or alternatively act as a LNG supplier without joining the project. Cirelli refused to specify the price of the offered stake. The Rabaska construction had earlier been estimated at $840 million. LNG would be supplied from several fields, including the Shtokman field, Cirelli noted. Rabaska is to be build by 2014, coinciding with the launch of the Shtokman field. The Canadian project has received the blessing of both national and local authorities. The terminal will be able to receive, store and regasify up to 500 million cubic meters of LNG a day. In May, it was reported that Gazprom’s subsidiary, Gazprom Marketing & Trading USA (GM&T), had contracted 100 percent of Rabaska’s capacity for LNG supplies from the Shtokman field. Deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev said that exporting Shtokman gas to new North American markets was vital for the company, citing the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario as especially attractive. Getting a stake in Rabaska is much more beneficial to Gazprom than simply contracting the terminal for LNG supplies, maintains Pavel Sorokin, an analyst at UniCredit Aton. For Gazprom, the Rabaska project is a guarantee of sales on the North American market, even if the Shtokman launch is delayed. “Perhaps, some European company will also get a stake in a Russian project, in return,” he added. According to Alexander Nazarov, an analyst at IFC Metropol, by acquiring a stake in a terminal which will be fully dependent on Gazprom’s LNG supplies, the Russian gas monopoly obtains a reliable and solvent consumer, with its demand for gas guaranteed to rise. Similarly, the global LNG market is growing rapidly, and the deal could also be of benefit to Canadian consumers, for whom Gazprom is a reliable and long-term gas supplier. Apparently, the Russian gas will be bound for the United States, with its natural gas consumption expected to grow by 1.5 percent annually over the next 20 years, while US domestic production is declining. This means that the United States will have to import more gas, Nazarov says, estimating its gas imports at about 42 million tonnes of LNG by 2010 and some 85 million tonnes by 2020. Once Shtokman comes online, Russian gas supplies to the US will rise significantly, and Gazprom wants to secure enough regasification capacity on the market.

MOSCOW, October 13 (RIA Novosti) - The tough economic situation in Russia and the world will not affect Russian natural gas projects, such as the Nord Stream and South Stream pipelines, the president of the Russian Gas Union said on Monday. "These projects are so advanced that the crisis will not affect them," Valery Yazev told the press. Speaking about Nord Stream, Yazev said the timeframe for launching the pipeline, the budget and the costing had already been fixed. The official also dismissed speculation that the crisis could also affect projects in the east of the country, such as the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline. The ESPO pipeline is slated to pump up to 1.6 million barrels of crude per day from Siberia to Russia's Far East and then onto China and the Asia-Pacific region. He also was confident that projects involving major Russian state-run companies, such as energy giant Gazprom, oil major Rosneft and pipeline monopoly Transneft, would not be frozen. "The government will do its utmost for projects to be implemented according to schedule," Yazev said. The Nord Stream pipeline, which will pump gas from Siberia to Europe under the Baltic Sea, is being built jointly by Gazprom and Germany's E.ON and BASF and Dutch gas transportation firm, Gasunie, at an estimated cost of $12 billion. The first deliveries along the South Stream pipeline are scheduled to start in 2013. The project, expected to annually pump 30 billion cubic meters of Central Asian and Russian gas to the Balkans and on to other European countries, involves Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Italy and Greece.

10 October 2008 - Upstream OnLine - The Chevron-led Tengizchevroil consortium plans to start oil shipments via the BP-run Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline in the second half of this month, BP Azerbaijan said today. "We expect to start pumping some volumes of Tengizchevroil's crude via the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline in the second half of October," company spokesman Tamam Bayatly told Reuters. She did not say how much oil was expected to be delivered. Tengizchevroil, struggling to expand its key pipeline export route, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), had hoped to start alternative exports via Baku in the middle of last year. A source at Azeri state oil company Socar told Reuters last month Tengizchevroil could start delivering 20,000 to 60,000 barrels per day via Azerbaijan. The crude was supposed to be shipped by both BTC and railways. The BTC pipeline, which runs from large Azeri fields on the Caspian Sea to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, can pump more than 1 million barrels per day, but currently works under its design capacity.

06.10.2008 - RZD News - A 1,100 km leg of the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) oil pipeline was opened Saturday in Russia's Far Eastern republic of Yakutia. Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko, Yakutian President Vyacheslav Shtyrov and the heads of pipeline operator Transneft and the Surgutneftegaz oil company Nikolai Tokarev and Vladimir Bogdanov, respectively, took part in the ceremony inaugurating the Talakan-Taishet section, RIA Novosti reports. "The ESPO oil pipeline network starts its life today," Sechin said. "A year before the entire ESPO system becomes operational, East Siberian oil is entering Russian pipelines," he added, describing the event as a "great victory." Transneft CEO Tokarev said the pipeline would boost socio-economic development in remote provinces. "This [pipeline] will make it possible to strengthen Russia's foothold on global oil markets," the Yakutian president said. "This also means that large oil and gas provinces will be developed." The ESPO pipeline is designed to pump up to 1.6 million barrels of crude per day from Siberia to Russia's Far East and then onto China and the Asia-Pacific region.

October 3, 2008 - MOSCOW (Dow Jones Newswires) - Gazprom could delay the launch of the South Stream gas pipeline to Europe by two years, the Vedomosti business daily reports Friday, citing an internal strategy document. Gazprom Chief Executive Alexei Miller said in January that the 900-kilometer pipeline would come online in 2013. But Vedomosti says the document pencils in 2015 for startup, although an exact date will only be determined following certain technical assessments in the third quarter of 2009 and may also depend on other market conditions. South Stream will transport gas across the Black Sea from Russia to Bulgaria before splitting into two arms, one going to Austria and the other to southern Italy via Greece.

06.10.2008 - [Neftegaz.RU] - VSTO is one the most scaled project by Transneft. It was approved by by the Russian government as early as 2004, but the construction works bagan only two years later in April 2006. Then it was planned that the first line of the pipeline as far as Skovorodino (on the Border with China) would be opened by October-December 2008. Later it was postponed till the end of 2009. Saturday the pipeline strated working in reverse way. First oil that came through it was from Talakanskoye oil field belonging to Surgutneftegaz. Now monthly output here is 120 000 tons, by the end of the year it is expected to increase by 150 000 tons. Sechin assured that the VSTO construction will be finished by December 2009, he was echoed by Transneft Vice President Mikhail Barkov. But there are still several undecided questions. It is yet not clear whether the pipeline section to China will be built. It depends on China and Rosneft, its major oil suppllier, talks on oil delivery after 2010.

TALAKAN (Yakutia), October 4 (RIA Novosti) - A 1,100 km leg of the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) oil pipeline was opened Saturday in Russia's Far Eastern republic of Yakutia. Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko, Yakutian President Vyacheslav Shtyrov and the heads of pipeline operator Transneft and the Surgutneftegaz oil company Nikolai Tokarev and Vladimir Bogdanov, respectively, took part in the ceremony inaugurating the Talakan-Taishet section. "The ESPO oil pipeline network starts its life today," Sechin said. "A year before the entire ESPO system becomes operational, East Siberian oil is entering Russian pipelines," he added, describing the event as a "great victory." Transneft CEO Tokarev said the pipeline would boost socio-economic development in remote provinces. "This [pipeline] will make it possible to strengthen Russia's foothold on global oil markets," the Yakutian president said. "This also means that large oil and gas provinces will be developed." The ESPO pipeline is designed to pump up to 1.6 million barrels of crude per day from Siberia to Russia's Far East and then onto China and the Asia-Pacific region.

 RBC, 02.10.2008, Moscow 16:58:09. – Transneft has submitted a feasibility study into the construction of an extension of the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline for government expert review, the oil transportation company's President Nikolai Tokarev said during a meeting on the the pipeline chaired by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. In turn, China has also conducted a feasibility study for the building of a 960-kilometer pipeline to Daqing. Tokarev stressed that China had contributed $37m to fund the study.

RBC, 02.10.2008, Moscow 10:59:40. – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is set to hold a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev today. He will also take part in a meeting of the Russian-German St. Petersburg Dialog forum. The Russian and German leaders are expected to discuss issues of bilateral cooperation, the construction of the Nord Stream pipeline, the situation in the Caucasus, relations within the Russia-NATO and Russia-EU format, as well as the new European security pact proposed by Medvedev in Berlin in June 2008. Medvedev and Merkel will also broach the subjects of the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking, as well as the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and other current issues of overwhelming international importance.