Page 10 - FSUOGM Week 10 2022
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FSUOGM PIPELINES & TRANSPORT FSUOGM
Italy set to expand Algerian gas
purchases in coming months
ITALY ITALY could be importing as much as 30bn considerably reduce the effects of the Ukrainian
cubic metres per year of Algerian gas within a crisis and sanctions against Russia on the Italian
Italy and other few months, the North African country’s ambas- energy supply system,” the ambassador said.
European countries sador said on March 4, marking a steep increase In related news, Italian banking group Intesa
are scrambling for from the 21 bcm Rome took last year. Sanpaolo announced in early March it was
ways of reducing their Italy and other European countries are scram- putting its Russian operations under strategic
dependence on Russian bling for ways of reducing their dependence on review in light of Moscow’s actions in Ukraine.
gas. Russian gas following the conflict in Ukraine. In One of Europe’s biggest banks, Intesa Sanpaolo
late February the government announced it would has played a significant role in financing Russian
prepare a series of “exceptional” measures to ease oil and gas projects and deals over the years. Its
the risk of a disruption in Russian gas, including a notable transactions include a €5.2bn loan it pro-
push to diversify its gas import mix. Its largest sup- vided to support Russia’s sale of a 19.5% stake in
plier is currently Russia, which delivered 29 bcm to national oil company Rosneft in 2017 to Qatar
the country last year. Petroleum and Glencore. It also financed the
“Italy will be able to count on additional sup- construction of Gazprom’s 16 bcm per year Blue
plies of Algerian gas at the same price to reach, Stream pipeline to Turkey.
and perhaps exceed, 30 bcm already in the next Meanwhile Italy’s largest oil company Eni
few months,” Ambassador Abdelkrim Touahria has announced it will divest from Blue Stream.
told newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore. And Italian export credit agency SACE said on
Italy gets its Algerian gas via the Transmed pipe- March 4 it had temporarily halted assessments
line under the Mediterranean Sea. Importing of projects in Russia and Belarus because of the
more “could, if not completely eliminate, at least deteriorating situation in Ukraine.
EU talks for Russian fossil fuel embargo
prompt rebuke from Moscow
EU THE West is considering placing an embargo said that “a rejection of Russian oil would lead
on Russian oil, to which Moscow has responded to catastrophic consequences for the global mar-
Moscow says Europe by suggesting that Russia could disrupt energy ket,” and claimed that it could lead to oil prices
will take years trying to supplies to Europe. spiking at above $300 per barrel.
wean itself off Russian The US Biden administration intends to impose He said that, referring to Germany’s deci-
gas, and that its gas will a ban on US imports of Russian oil, gas and other sion to halt the certification process for Russia’s
still be more expensive. petroleum products in response to the escalating Nord Stream 2 pipeline, Moscow has “every
conflict in Ukraine, the Financial Times reported right to take a matching decision and impose
on March 8. The decision is understood to have an embargo on gas pumping through the Nord
been made in consultation with Washington’s Euro- Stream 1 gas pipeline. He added that it would be
pean allies, although exactly what actions countries impossible for European consumers to find an
besides the US will take is unclear. immediate replacement for Russian oil.
The White House said on March 8 that Presi- “It will take years, and it will still be much
dent Joe Biden “will announce actions to continue more expensive for European consumers,” he
to hold Russia accountable for its unprovoked and said. “Ultimately, they will be hurt the worse by
unjustified war on Ukraine,” without specifying this outcome.”
measures that it would implement. Analysts at Bank of America agree that prices
The West has been so far reluctant to intro- could reach $200 per barrel if the bulk of Rus-
duce sanctions that would directly impact sian oil exports are embargoed. The EU has so far
Russian oil and gas exports, fearful of the ramifi- resisted taking any immediate steps, suggesting
cations that this would have on the global energy instead that reliance on Russian oil and gas could
crisis. But countries, particularly in Europe, have be reduced over time. “It’s not easy, but it’s feasi-
been warming to the idea as Russia’s military ble,” Frans Timmermans told the European Par-
operations in Ukraine escalate. liament’s environmental committee on March 7,
In an address on Russian state television, Rus- noting that Russia currently supplied 40% of the
sian Deputy Energy Minister Alexander Novak gas that is consumed in the EU.
P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 10 10•March•2022