Page 13 - bneMagazine March 2023 oil discount

bne March 2023 Companies & Markets I 13
volumes due to sanctions was somewhat offset by growth in all other cargo types, the port said.
New natural gas routes
Sanctions and fears of a Russian decision to sever supplies have led Central and Southeast European countries to intensify their search for alternative suppliers of natural gas, with many alighting on Azerbaijan. The country had long been seen as an important supplier via the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), an ambitious project launched long before the war began to diversify Europe’s gas supply away from Russia.
Azerbaijan already supplies some of Southern Europe through the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), but since the start of the war, several Southeast European countries have started investing into new interconnections with their neighbours to enable them to tap into supplies of gas from Azerbaijan. Most recently, Bulgaria started the construction of a new gas link with Serbia with capacity of up to 1.8 bcm a year will help increase energy security and diversify gas supplies, while North Macedonia is working on plans for a gas interconnector with Greece.
At the same time, in 2022 EU became the world leader in LNG imports, overtaking China, Japan and South Korea, according to data from consultancy Refinitiv.
Battle over Ukrainian grain terminal demonstrates challenges post-war foreign investors
will face
Dominic Culverwell in London
Avicious corporate dispute has erupted in Ukraine between Argentem Creek Partners (ACP), a US hedge fund, and the Ukrainian GNT Group, which operates a grain port terminal in Odesa participating in Ukraine’s critical Grain Corridor Initiative.
At the heart of the dispute are thousands of tonnes of missing grain that Argentem believes was liquidated without any notice to investors by Serhii Hroza and Volodymyr Naumenko, the co-owners of GNT and terminal operator Olimpex Coupe.
During the year, EU countries expanded LNG purchases by 58%, up to 101mn tonnes, equivalent to 137 bcm of natural gas, slightly less than the 155 bcm Russia delivered to the EU in 2021.
Earlier the IEA reported that Russian sent slightly more than 100 bcm of gas to the EU in 2022, and after the explosions appeared to have caused leaks in the two main Nord Stream gas pipelines on September 26 last year, the total piped gas deliveries to the EU are anticipated to fall to between 50 bcm and 60 bcm, almost exclusively via Turkey and Ukraine.
Germany remains the largest market for natural gas in Europe and until recently had Russia as its largest supplier. This position is now held by Norway, which has ramped up pipe gas supply to the country over recent months. Germany has rushed into operation five floating LNG (FLNG) terminals and is currently building its first onshore terminal, which could come into operation by this coming winter.
Contributions from Ben Aris in Berlin, Will Conroy in Prague, Iulian Ernst in Bucharest, Linas Jegelevicius in Vilnius, Clare Nuttall in Glasgow and Kanat Shaku in Almaty.
Image: www.shutterstock.com
In addition, Argentem claims that GNT owes it more than $117mn with interest after more than 12 months of not servicing a loan, as well as $20mn to US-based creditor Innovatus Structured Trade Finance.
In an exclusive interview with bne IntelliNews, John Patton, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at Argentem, said that Ukraine’s reputation could be damaged if ACP fails to win the case. With investors eyeing up Ukraine as the embattled country attempts to secure funding for post-war reconstruction, the government’s reaction to the lawsuit could affect future financial support, he argues.
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