Extraction and the Politics of Natural Resources.

[TsarSamuil]

Turkey’s Erdogan accuses Greece of ‘sowing chaos it can’t escape from’ in Mediterranean.

RT.com
24 Aug, 2020 22:09

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused neighboring Greece of “sowing chaos” in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, contested by the two nations based on overlapping natural resources claims.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting on Monday, Erdogan blasted Athens for broadcasting maritime navigational and weather advisories, known as Navtex, in areas of Mediterranean claimed by Ankara.

Greece has declared its own Navtex unlawfully and in a spoiled manner...With this approach, Greece has sown a chaos that it will not be able to escape from.

Turkey’s president also claimed that the Greek activities in the area are encouraged by third-party countries, who he said will not help Athens in the event of an open conflict with Ankara.

“The ones who throw Greece in front of the Turkish navy will not stand behind them," Erdogan added, without mentioning any foreign actors in particular.

Greece’s Navtex advisory for the area expires this Thursday, Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas said. The advisory spans over the same period as the Turkish oil exploration mission of its Oruc Reis survey ship, backed up by several military vessels. That mission, originally intended to end on August 23, was recently extended to August 27.

“Greece is responding calmly and with readiness both on a diplomatic and on an operational level. And with national confidence it does everything needed to defend its sovereign rights,” Petsas said.

The waters of the eastern Mediterranean have been especially hot lately, as the two NATO allies sent military flotillas to the contested area, close to a Greek island off Turkey’s southern coast.

Ankara has laid claim to the waters after striking a maritime agreement with the UN-backed government of war-torn Libya, yet this was rejected by Greece and other nations, with another NATO ally, France, even sending it its own naval forces to support Athens in the ongoing standoff.



‘An unwise move’: Berlin warns Ankara over fresh exploration activities in contested waters of East Mediterranean.

RT.com
12 Oct, 2020 16:17

Renewed hydrocarbon exploration in disputed waters would be an “unwise” move by Turkey, a German government spokesman said as Ankara prepares to send its research vessel to conduct seismic studies yet again.

The spokesman for the federal government, Steffen Seibert, was quoted by German media as saying Ankara’s decision to renew seismic surveys in the disputed area would set back efforts to establish talks between Turkey, Greece and Cyprus, and “would certainly be anything but conducive to the further development of EU-Turkey relations.”

It would be an unwise move for Turkey to begin exploration in a disputed area again.

The comments follow Turkey’s announcement that maintenance was completed on research vessel Oruç Reis and it would restart exploration in the contested waters until October 22. Earlier this month, the EU said it would punish Turkey if it continued exploration activities in the contested waters.

The Oruç Reis has been a considerable source of rising diplomatic tensions between Greece and Turkey in 2020. Ankara withdrew the vessel in mid-September, ahead of an EU summit on eastern Mediterranean issues.
Progress appeared to be near as Greek and Turkish foreign ministers met last Thursday on the sidelines of a security conference in Slovakia. It was the first time the ministers had met since the crisis began and both sides looked in good spirits as they agreed on future “exploratory talks.”

Reacting to the move on Monday, the Greek Foreign Ministry described the development as a “major escalation” and a “direct threat to peace in the region.”

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Washington 'deplores' Turkey's 'calculated provocation' in the E. Mediterranean as Ankara renews seismic surveying.

RT.com
13 Oct, 2020 16:25

Ankara has been criticized by the US State Department for restarting hydrocarbon exploration in contested waters. Washington said the move “deliberately complicates” de-escalation talks between NATO allies Greece and Turkey.

In a statement released on Tuesday, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said: “The United States deplores Turkey's October 11 announcement of renewed Turkish survey activity in areas over which Greece asserts jurisdiction in the Eastern Mediterranean.”

Coercion, threats, intimidation, and military activity will not resolve tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean. We urge Turkey to end this calculated provocation and immediately begin exploratory talks with Greece. Unilateral actions cannot build trust and will not produce enduring solutions.

On Monday, the Turkish exploration vessel, Oruc Reis, returned to sea to continue carrying out exploration activities in the waters south of the Greek island of Kastellorizo until October 22. News of the vessel's redeployment drew condemnation from Athens.

Greece and Turkey had only last week settled on dates to renew “exploratory talks” over the ongoing dispute concerning the Eastern Mediterranean region, and to discuss “confidence building measures.”

However, on Tuesday, Greece’s minister of state told national radio that there would be no exploratory talks so long as the Oruc Reis survey vessel remained in contested waters. “Turkey is the side trying to establish a status quo using violence and threats,” he added.

The Greek Foreign Ministry had already described the development as a “major escalation,” while other European counterparts have weighed in to support Greece. Earlier in October, the EU claimed it would continue to punish Turkey if it maintained its exploration activities in the disputed waters.

[TsarSamuil]

Navalny took some pills for nothing? Oh, what a shame!

Full stream ahead! Denmark removes final hurdle for Russian gas pipeline to Europe.

RT.com
1 Oct, 2020 13:31

The Danish Energy Agency (DEA) announced on Thursday that it has given the operator of Nord Stream 2 project a license to conduct operations along that country's continental shelf.

“Nord Stream 2 AG has been granted an operations permit for the Nord Stream 2 pipelines on the Danish continental shelf,” the DEA said, adding that “The permit has been granted on a number of conditions.”

According to the agency, the conditions are expected to ensure the safe operation of the gas pipeline, which is being built to transport Russian gas to European consumers via the Baltic Sea.

DEA’s announcement comes as some politicians in Germany and the European Union had recently issued calls for the sanctioning of and even putting an end to the Nord Stream 2 project, because of the alleged poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny.

Earlier in September, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Germany’s Bild that Washington is creating a coalition to hamper Nord Stream 2. He said that he would like to see Germany adopting the US position on the Russian-led project, either because of Navalny or the “real security implications” of dependence on Russian gas.

However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for the issue of Nord Stream 2 and the incident with Navalny not to be linked.

US administration has repeatedly criticized the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, aiming to derail the project in order to boost sales of American liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe. Meanwhile, many European nations have already stressed that they want to diversify their sources of energy, and the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia could be one of the ways to achieve this.

The new pipeline, which was designed to boost gas supplies to Germany and other European states by 55 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year, is currently nearing completion in the Baltic Sea. Russia had to dispatch its own vessels to lay the final kilometers of the route, after Swiss-Dutch company Allseas withdrew its ships due to the threat of US sanctions.

[TsarSamuil]

First reactor of Belarus’ controversial Astravets nuclear power plant achieves criticality, Baltic states are outraged by project.

RT.com
11 Oct, 2020 13:37

The first of two Russian-built reactors at the new Belarusian nuclear power plant, at Astravets, is almost ready to go. Located near the border with Lithuania and Latvia, the Baltic states have fiercely opposed the project.

Along with Estonia, the pair have pledged to stop electricity trade with Minsk when the plant is finally operational. The Astravets nuclear power plant (known in Belarus as BelAes) is a joint project with Russia’s state atomic energy corporation, Rosatom. On Sunday, the first chain reaction was launched at one of the VVER-1200 type reactors and sustained at the minimum controlled power level, Belarus’ energy ministry reported.

The reactor is expected to pass through several tests before it becomes fully operational and starts supplying electricity to the power grid sometime next year.

The nuclear project has outraged Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. The power plant is located in northwestern Belarus some 20km from the Lithuanian border and 50km from the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. The EU member has been treating it as a major security threat since the inception of the project.

In late August, Lithuania and its Baltic allies reached an agreement, under which all their electricity trade with Belarus would stop after the plant launched. The countries are planning to introduce a system certifying the origin of electricity.

[TsarSamuil]

Lion’s share of Russia’s Arctic LNG destined for Asia.

RT.com
12 Oct, 2020 09:47

Russian gas producer Novatek has announced plans to ship 80 percent of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its Arctic LNG 2 plant to Asian markets via the Northern Sea Route.

According to the head of Novatek Leonid Mikhelson, “The plant’s three liquefaction lines with a total capacity of 19.8 million tons of LNG will be launched starting in 2023.”

LNG supplies to Asia will become possible due to the year-round navigation of ships along the Northern Sea Route (NSR), he told participants of the LNG Producer - Consumer Conference in a video message.

Mikhelson added that after the commissioning of the new nuclear-powered icebreakers LK-60, it will be possible to use all the routes of the NSR year-round. “The lead icebreaker Arktika is completing tests and will be commissioned next month,” he said.

Arctic LNG 2 is Novatek’s second liquefied natural gas project at the Gydan Peninsula in Russia’s Yamalo-Nenets Region. Besides Novatek, Chinese CNOOC and CNPC, France’s Total and a consortium of Japan’s Mitsui and Jogmec have a 10 percent share each in the project. Last month, Germany said it may participate in the project with investments of up to €300 million ($354 million).

Russia wants to turn the Northern Sea Route, which stretches the entire length of Russia’s Arctic and Far East regions, into a major trade artery between Europe and Asia. In the first half of the year, freight transportation via the route reached almost 15 million tons. Last year, 31.5 million tons were transported using the Arctic route.

[TsarSamuil]

Is that map what turkey considers its economic zone? Which ignores greek islands? Lol? Not that I care, fuck greece

lol funny picture, he looks surprised, looks almost like he is arrested, his fat heads looks too big also..

Turkey slams declaration by Cyprus, Greece & Egypt condemning Ankara’s ‘provocations’ in E. Mediterranean.

RT.com
22 Oct, 2020 15:58

Ankara has denounced the “baseless accusations” in the statement of the leaders of Cyprus, Greece, and Egypt on its work in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry rejected the memorandum issued after the trilateral summit in Cyprus on Wednesday, which condemned Turkish energy exploration in the region.

The ministry in Ankara said the trio’s statements on stability and cooperation target only Turkey. “The only real cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean is possible with an inclusive stance that includes Turkish Cypriots and all countries sharing the coast,” the ministry said. It noted that the countries that “create problems” in the region cannot provide a solution to the conflict and should change their “hostile policies.”

Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday that Ankara was “blatantly” violating international law and that “Turkey’s leadership has fantasies of imperial behavior with aggressive behavior.”

Ankara insists, that, despite warnings from the EU, it will continue to search for hydrocarbon reserves in its continental shelf. On Wednesday, Turkey extended the work of its Oruc Reis exploration vessel for another five days in the Eastern Mediterranean.

However, on Thursday, in spite of the current tensions, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar invited neighboring countries in the Eastern Mediterranean and Aegean to “meet, talk, discuss, and solve the issues.” He said, however, that Turkey “would not let its rights be overruled” and warned third parties against trying to “set some rules by exceeding their limits, or expect[ing] us to accept those rules.”

Akar also told Bloomberg that Turkey does not plan to integrate the Russian S-400 air defense systems into NATO’s defense architecture. “The S-400s will be used as stand-alones within the national system, just like other Russian-made weapons are being used at NATO,” Akar said, referring to Greece’s S-300 systems.

[TsarSamuil]

Russia’s crude oil exports drop 8% in January-August.

RT.com
29 Oct, 2020 07:32

Russia’s crude oil exports dropped by 7.9 percent year over year in the period January to August, according to Russian federal customs data cited by local cargo analytics outlet SeaNews.

For most of the period through August, Russia was part of the OPEC+ agreement to curtail supply to the market, except in March and early April, when Russia and Saudi Arabia disagreed on how to manage oil supply to the market when demand was crashing due to the pandemic. The current production cuts began in May 2020 and are much deeper than in the previous deal.

Russia’s crude oil exports also dropped in terms of value due to the slump in oil prices. Between January and August, the value of Russian crude oil exports plunged by 38.9 percent compared to the same period last year, to $48.8 billion, according to data from the Russian federal customs service.

Currently, Russia’s economy is suffering the consequences of the oil price crash that it helped create with the temporary rift with its OPEC+ partner Saudi Arabia. Russia’s oil income shrank as a result of the plunge in oil prices.

Due to the restrictions under the OPEC+ deal, Russia plans to export 16.4 percent less crude oil this year compared to 2019, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said at the budget committee at Russia’s Parliament last week.

Crude oil production is expected to drop by 10 percent in 2020 from 2019, Novak said, adding that output could return to the levels before the pandemic by 2023, but this would depend on global oil demand and the OPEC+ agreements.

OPEC+ is set to ease the current cuts by 2 million barrels per day (bpd) as of January, but weak demand and rising supply from exempt OPEC member Libya could derail those plans.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week he is not ruling out OPEC+ delaying the easing of the cuts, or even making further reductions.

“We are of the opinion that nothing needs to change right now. However, we are not ruling out either maintaining existing production limits or not lifting them as soon as we had intended earlier. And if necessary, we will make further reductions. But currently we do not see the need,” Putin said, as carried by the Kremlin.

[TsarSamuil]

Construction of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to restart next month.

RT.com
29 Nov, 2020 08:51

Despite rising US pressure on the Nord Stream 2 project, the company behind Russia’s natural gas pipeline to Germany has announced plans to resume pipelaying works in the Baltic Sea in December after a year-long break.

“We are planning to resume pipe-laying work using an anchor-positioned vessel in Germany’s exclusive economic zone this year,” the operator of the project confirmed to Russian media.

The company did not reveal the name of the ship it will use, but promised to announce it later.

Two Russian-flagged ships – the Akademik Cherskiy and Fortuna – could be the main candidates for this job. The former was considered the only vessel to meet all the necessary technical requirements to complete the construction of the pipeline, before the Danish Energy Agency (DEA) greenlighted the use of ships with anchor positioning, which had been banned from the works under previous rules.

According to MarineTraffic data, the Akademik Cherskiy departed from the German port of Mukran on Thursday and is currently under “restricted maneuverability” status in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Russia’s Kaliningrad region. Meanwhile, Fortuna was spotted in German waters near Wismar Port.

Before the operator of the Nord Stream 2 confirmed its plans, German broadcaster NDR reported that construction of the final short stretch of the pipeline will resume as early as on December 5. The report cited an announcement by the Baltic Sea Waterways and Shipping Office in Stralsund. The agency noted that some 75 kilometers of the 1,224-km long gas link remain unfinished, with some 16 kilometers lying within the German exclusive economic zone and the rest in Danish waters.

Construction on the multibillion-dollar project was abruptly halted at the end of last year, when Swiss-Dutch pipelaying firm Allseas withdrew its vessels over the threat of US sanctions. While Russia has assured its partners that it can finish the project on its own, though with a delay, Washington is still trying to prevent the completion of Nord Stream 2, with the Trump administration threatening new sanctions for companies linked to it.

Norwegian-German certification company Det Norske Veritas – Germanischer Lloyd (DNV GL) has become the recent firm to cave into pressure from Washington. Earlier this week, the firm said it had to stop working for the project under the threat of US sanctions.

Nord Stream 2 was designed to boost supplies of cheaper Russian natural gas to Germany and other European states by 55 billion cubic meters per year. With the link nearing completion, it could be launched before the end of the first quarter of 2021, Dmitry Marinchenko, a senior director in Fitch Ratings' Natural Resources and Commodities team, told TASS.

[TsarSamuil]

Bombshell report reveals how Ukrainian lobbyists pitted US against EU over new Russia-Germany Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

RT.com
30 Nov, 2020 11:52

Ukrainian energy executives and Kiev’s national security officials launched a coordinated lobbying campaign in Washington that put the US on a collision course with EU countries over a new gas pipeline.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday how spin doctors working for Kiev-based Naftogaz and at least one representative of Ukraine’s National Security Council pressed for four years to influence White House officials to oppose the Nord Stream 2 project.

According to the newspaper, they relied on close relations with so-called “Russia-skeptics” in Congress, such as Texas Senator Ted Cruz, to propose a package of sanctions on European companies involved in laying the Baltic Sea pipeline.

After Washington warned it would target construction and shipping firms involved in the project, which are mainly based in Germany and Denmark, Naftogaz’s Vadim Glamazdin is said to have claimed that it would be “the final nail in the coffin.”“When these sanctions are finally voted and become law, there will be no practical way to build this pipeline,” he added.

On Saturday it was reported that construction would resume on Nord Stream 2 this week, after a number of companies pulled out of the project last year in response to US threats of legal action. The 764-mile (1,229km) underwater pipeline will be among the longest in the world, linking Siberia’s natural gas fields to the German port of Greifswald and more than 150 companies involved in its construction have been earmarked for punitive measures.

The partnership behind the project, which includes Russian state-owned Gazprom as well as UK, German and French energy firms, say it will “meet growing demands of consumers in Europe.” However, Ukrainian politicians are fearful that Kiev stands to lose the $3 billion it makes from transit fees it imposes on Russian gas flowing through the pipelines built by Moscow during the Soviet era. Nord Stream 2 would allow Russia to send supplies to the EU without paying the levy. Ukraine’s annual budget is around $40 billion, and this represents a significant source of income.

That argument has undoubtedly found favor with President Donald Trump’s administration and senior members of his party who have said that it represents a “grave threat” to Europe’s “energy security, and American national security.” However, there has been widespread speculation that the US’ position is also influenced by a desire to sell vast quantities of American shale gas to the continent. According to Politico, a common refrain in Berlin is that “the Americans don’t care about Russia, they just want to sell us their fracking gas.”

The issue has become a bone of contention in relations between the US and Germany. In August, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas rebuked Trump’s Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over the threat of “crushing legal sanctions” currently being considered by Congress on the German port of Murkan, where Russian vessels are supporting construction. In October, Maas said he “assumed” that the project would be completed regardless of Washington’s objections. “The question is, when,” he added.

[TsarSamuil]

Russia’s massive offshore Arctic oil & gas discovery could dwarf Gulf of Mexico & Middle East’s energy reserves.

RT.com
15 Dec, 2020 11:49

Russian energy giant Rosneft has announced the discovery of a “unique” gas deposit in the Kara Sea containing an estimated 514 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

The company says the discovery could establish a new cluster for oil and gas production in the area.

The field, which has been named after Soviet Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky, is Rosneft’s third discovery in the Arctic. It is part of the company’s drilling campaign to develop the region’s oil and gas potential.

The project was started by President Vladimir Putin in 2014. It has resulted in the discovery of one of the world’s largest oil and gas fields, the Pobeda field. Its total recoverable reserves stand at some 130 million tons of oil and 422 billion cubic meters of gas.

The second discovered field, with an estimated 800 billion cubic meters of gas deposits, was named after Marshal Georgy Zhukov.

Overall, more than 30 “prospective structures” were identified in the three areas of the Kara Sea, according to Rosneft.

It said the results of the drilling prove “the discovery of a new Kara offshore oil province,” adding that “In terms of resources, it could surpass such oil and gas-bearing provinces as the Gulf of Mexico, the Brazilian shelf, the Arctic shelf of Alaska and Canada, and the major provinces of the Middle East.”

[TsarSamuil]

Construction of German stretch of Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline FINISHED, company says.

RT.com
28 Dec, 2020 20:44

Nord Stream 2 AG, the company managing a major project to bring Russian gas to Europe, announced on Monday that the construction of the 2.6-kilometer stretch of the gas pipeline in German waters has been completed.

The company said that it’s wrapped up the work in the German exclusive economic zone and is now ready to transition to the next phase, the German press agency dpa reported.

The completion of the pipeline is expected to continue next year, sometime in mid-January. The company will proceed to lay two parallel strings of gas pipes, this time in the Danish exclusive economic zone.

Nord Stream 2 AG said that any further announcements will be made “at the appropriate time,” and that the company “could not reveal” any further details.

The construction of the German stretch of the Nord Stream 2 project resumed on December 11, and continued despite threats of sanctions coming from the US State Department.

On Monday, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that Berlin “will not change its position on Nord Stream 2” despite the anticipated change of administration in Washington – with the incoming Joe Biden team largely expected to continue the current policy of anti-Russian pressure.

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‘Don’t talk about European sovereignty’: Berlin WON’T do US bidding & change stance on Nord Stream 2 with Biden in charge, FM says.

RT.com
28 Dec, 2020 19:33

Berlin will not change its position on the Nord Stream 2 project after the new US administration takes office, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has said, adding that Europe’s sovereignty does not equal doing US bidding.

“We do not need to talk about European sovereignty if it means that, in the future, we will only do everything Washington wants,” Maas told Germany’s dpa news agency while commenting on the German government’s stance on the Russian gas pipeline project.

“The federal government will not change its position on Nord Stream 2.”

The pipeline has long been a point of contention between Berlin and Washington. Backed by Russia’s state-owned Gazprom, as well as by German, French and British energy companies, Nord Stream 2, if completed, would link Siberia’s gas fields with consumers in Western Europe.

The US has repeatedly sought to undermine its construction – mostly through sanctions targeting European companies involved in the project in particular – all while arguing it also undermines European sovereignty, by making Europe too dependent on Russian gas.

Europe sees the US actions as a pursuit of its own purely economic goal, which is to increase its own sales of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to its European partners. Germany has particularly been one of the staunchest defenders of the Nord Stream 2. However, earlier, Maas said he expected to resolve the issue through reaching a deal with the Biden administration.

He also admitted, though, that Berlin is perfectly aware that there is “hardly any difference in views between Democrats and Republicans” when it comes to the issue. His latest statement came just as Nord Stream 2, the company managing the construction, told dpa that a section of the pipeline in the German exclusive economic zone has been completed.

Earlier, the CEO of the Russian energy giant Gazprom, Alexey Miller, confirmed that 94 percent of the pipeline had now been completed. According to media reports, further works in Danish waters should start at some point in January.

Denmark approved the construction in early October. When commissioned, Nord Stream 2 will supply Europe with up to 55 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas per year, on top of the 55 bcm already being pumped through Nord Stream 1.