Page 16 - FSUOGM Week 40 2022

FSUOGM POLICY FSUOGM

Putin again blames Europe for causing

its own energy crisis

RUSSIA RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin has once an energy forum in Moscow.
again laid the blame for the energy crisis in The EU has vowed to end all Russian gas
The Russian president Europe on the latter's own policies, just as EU imports by 2024, although Moscow has already
claims that the leaks member states continue to wrangle over how a fulfilled much of that goal itself, consistently
in the Nord Stream 1 gas price cap should best be introduced to shield cutting supply over the last six months. Rus-
and 2 pipelines were consumers from soaring energy prices. sian deliveries slumped to an all-time record
an “act of international The multiple leaks that occurred at the Nord low of 2.3bn cubic metres in September, down
terrorism.” Stream 1 and 2 pipelines were an “act of inter- a third from the previous low seen in August.
national terrorism,” that has robbed people However, Russia continues steady supply to
of energy supply. Nord Stream 1 was inactive some countries in Southeast Europe via Turk-
when the leaks occurred, with Russia claim- Stream, including Hungary, which has resisted
ing that technical problems caused by Western the push to end dependence on Russian energy
sanctions made the pipeline inoperable. Despite imports.
being filled with gas as part of its commissioning Putin once again said that Russia was not
process, Nord Stream 2 never entered service, as responsible for the energy crisis unfolding in
German authorities halted the necessary certi- Europe, blaming the problem instead on the
fication process two days before Russia invaded EU’s green policies, which deprived the global
Ukraine, in response to Moscow’s recognition oil and gas industry of investment.
of the rebel Donetsk and Lugansk provinces of Russia began withholding gas supply from
Ukraine as independent. Europe last summer, only delivering contractual
Putin suggested that an alternative hub for volumes under contracts while ceasing sales on
Russian gas could be established in Turkey. the spot market. This said, Europe has seen a
“We could move the lost volumes along the steady decline in its indigenous gas production,
Nord Streams along the bottom of the Baltic Sea and policy-makers – both on a national and EU
to the Black Sea region and thus make the main level – actively discouraged investment in new
routes for the supply of our fuel, our natural gas indigenous gas supply in the years prior to Mos-
to Europe through Turkey,” the president said at cow’s invasion of Ukraine. ™

PROJECTS & COMPANIES

Lukoil denied oil licence in the Baltic Sea

RUSSIA RUSSIA’S Lukoil has been denied a licence from company requested it receive the licence directly.
the authorities to develop the Nadezhda oil In 2021, Russia’s natural resources ministry sent
Lukoil has a monopoly and gas deposit in the Baltic Sea, Kommersant Lukoil’s draft application for Nadezhda to the
over Russian Baltic Sea reported on October 11, noting the government government for review. But the government
production, had not disclosed a reason for the refusal. responded by requesting that Lukoil prove that
The private oil producer has been seeking a exploration of the site does not pose a danger to
licence for Nadezhda for six years, but author- the Curonian Spit National Park.
ities have in the past delayed the process, citing Lukoil is also the only active oil producer in
environmental issues. Lukoil has developed sev- the Russian Caspian Sea – another key growth
eral projects in the Baltic Sea off Kaliningrad, portfolio for the company. It made a new dis-
and is the only operator working in the region. covery there in late April, estimating its size at
Lukoil’s Baltic Sea projects include the 140-150mn tonnes of oil.
Kravtsovskoye (D6), D33 and D41 fields, which The company has long been vying for
together flowed 430,000 tonnes of oil in 2021, rights in Russia’s offshore Arctic zone, but has
or 8,600 barrels per day (bpd). The company is failed to convince the government to lift a law
counting on the region to replenish its resource that prohibits private players from operating
base and maintain production as fields in its licences in the region. This law has allowed
main area of operation, Western Siberia, con- state-owned Rosneft, Gazprom and Gazprom
tinue to see decline. Neft to dominate the Arctic Shelf, even though
Lukoil initially offered to bid for Nadezhda only one project to date – Gazprom’s Prira-
in an auction, but authorities decided a con- zlomnoye field – has been brought into oper-
test should not be held, after which point the ation. ™

P16 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 41 15•October•2022