Page 6 - EurOil Week 30

EurOil COMMENTARY EurOil
 Softer note
Reporting from Brussels, Reuters said Ger- many’s new Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Merkel’s protege, struck a so er note, saying no nal decision had been taken but she, too, stressed that the Europeans had di erent views from the United States.
“We now have a rst general request from the United States, the other international part- ners for a possible mission,” she told reporters before a meeting with NATO Secretary-Gen- eral Jens Stoltenberg.
“We are reviewing these requests in close co-operation with Britain and France, and we are doing this against the backdrop of our polit- ical and diplomatic goals and in this overall assessment a corresponding decision will be taken,”shereportedlysaid.
Since the end of World War II, Germany has been reluctant to get involved in military missions abroad. A Civey poll showed on July 30 that 56% of Germans were against joining an international military mission in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran seeks concessions
e US is using a campaign of severe sanctions
to strangle Iran’s economy. It wants to force the Iranians to renegotiate the 2015 nuclear deal. Big concessions are wanted from Tehran on its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and on its backing for militias across the Middle East that are variously enemies of Israel and Arab allies of the US.
The remaining signatories of the nuclear deal—Iran, the UK, France, Germany, Russia and China—remain committed to the accord. High-level meetings between the signatories have been taking place to try and strengthen e orts to save it.
But Iran is angered at how little Europe in particular has done to help protect its trade and economy from the US “economic war.” On July 31, it issued fresh statements, saying it was set tofurtherreduceitscommitmenttothenuclear deal if more assistance is not forthcoming in the very near future.
It is against such a backdrop that the unex- plained attacks on oil tankers began, with some hardliners in Iran renewing warnings that the Islamic Republic could blockade the Strait of Hormuz if the US does not back o from its policy of trying to force all Iranian oil o world export markets. ™
PIPELINES & TRANSPORT
Gazprom seeks to block EU gas law in a bid to protect Nord Stream-2
EU
Russia’s Gazprom has called on the EU Court of Justice to revoke “discriminatory measures” applied by the bloc to its controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.
e Nord Stream 2 operating company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Gazprom, reported on July 26 that it had led a request with the court to annul an amendment to the EU’s gas directive passed earlier this year. is amend- ment requires pipelines between EU member states and third countries to comply with Brus- sels’ rules on third-party access, ownership unbundling, non-discriminatory tariffs and transparency.
Though universally applied, the amend- ment’s introduction was widely seen as an attack on Nord Stream 2, which aims to deliver up to 55bn cubic metres of Russian gas to Northern Europe starting next year.
“We as a prudent investor are committed to protecting our investments. But the amend- ment to the gas directive is not only harmful to Nord Stream 2,” the project operator’s CEO Matthias Warnig said in a statement. “Such obvious discrimination against an individual commercial investment also undermines the ability of the EU’s internal market to attract investments for making the energy transition a reality.”
e amendment is not an issue for pipelines that have already been completed. While con- struction of Nord Stream 2 is still underway (66.3% of the pipe was installed as of July 16), Russia claims it should be treated as nished, as the new legislation was imposed a er a nal investment decision (FID) on the project was taken..
Another threat to Nord Stream 2 has come from Denmark, where regulators have yet to issue a permit allowing its construction through Danish waters. Meanwhile, US politicians are considering new sanctions that would penal- ise pipelayers, nanciers and other companies involved in its development.
Wikimedia Commons
P6
w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m
Week 30 01•August•2019