In the configuration of Central Asia, China, Russia energy, China is increasing its geo-economic Influence but Russia remains the main military-strategic power.
Continue reading →Even before Turkey’s shoot-down of a Russian bomber for violating its airspace, there was Russia Turkey energy conflict over “renovated” prospects for the Turkish Stream natural gas pipeline project between the two countries. One had the right to be skeptical, … Continue reading →
Russia is gambling big with its Turkish Stream problem. Gazprom is preparing to begin work on the Turkish Stream pipeline without there being an Russian-Turkish intergovernmental agreement in place. The Japanese firm Saipem, which Russia has been paying for months … Continue reading →
A recent evaluation of prospects for a revival of the Nabucco West pipeline concludes that it is not feasible in the absence of a Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline (TCGP) carrying gas from Turkmenistan, presumably crossing Asia Minor through TANAP. To this … Continue reading →
The South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) takes natural gas from Azerbaijan into Turkey for Turkish consumption. It will soon be connected to the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP, from its Turkish initials), which will cross Asia Minor to Europe. TANAP, now under … Continue reading →
Errors have infiltrated reports of Russian-Turkish gas negotiations. Correcting them reveals that Russia is trying to take advantage of the deterioration of EU-Turkey relations, but Turkey is not taking the bait.
Continue reading →Interview on John Batchelor Show, WABC-AM 770 (New York City), 22 January 2015. … Continue reading →
Russia continues to play hardball with natural gas for the European Union, trying to get Brussels to sacrifice Ukraine in return for the promise of better relations with Moscow. This geo-economic and power-political jousting is conditioned by the fact that EU sanctions against Russia will begin to expire in three phases between March and July unless there is an EU consensus to keep them in place.
Continue reading →Interview on John Batchelor Show, WABC-AM 770 (New York City), 10 December 2014. … Continue reading →
The president of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), Rovnag Abdullaev, has announced that the US$8 billion-plus Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline may be expanded four-fold from its initially planned volume of 8-16 billion cubic meters per year (bcm/y) to as … Continue reading →