• U.S. oil exports to Europe hit record in March on steep discounts | Reuters
    https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-oil-exports-europe-hit-record-march-steep-discounts-2023-03-20

    U.S. crude exports to Europe have hit a record 2.1 million barrels per day on average so far this month, spurred by wide discounts to the global benchmark and weaker oil demand by U.S. refineries.

    Record exports to Europe and China this month reflect the rise of United States in crude oil trade and solidifies its role supplying Europe following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

  • Norway’s Equinor says sanctions prevented it helping on Nord Stream | Reuters
    https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/norways-equinor-says-sanctions-prevented-it-helping-nord-stream-2023-02-01
    https://www.reuters.com/resizer/fyFZFUfhvZIE8Er-sXqiCQPuBL4=/1146x0/filters:quality(80)/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/2G4OFDCZ2NK5ZKAKXNNIB7R3NE.jpg
    Gas bubbles from the Nord Stream 2 leak reaching surface of the Baltic Sea in the area shows disturbance of well over one kilometre diameter near Bornholm, Denmark, September 27, 2022.
    Danish Defence Command/Handout via REUTERS

    Norway’s Equinor said European Union sanctions had prevented it from providing services and equipment to inspect the damaged Nord Stream gas pipelines last year, revealing for the first time why Norwegian assistance was not forthcoming.

    In September, several unexplained underwater explosions ruptured the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, each more than 1,200-km-long, that link Russia and Germany across the Baltic Sea, sending methane gushing into the atmosphere.

    The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that work on the pipelines would be in breach of the Norwegian sanction regulations – and by extension the EU sanction regulations,” Equinor said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

    Norway’s foreign ministry had no immediate comment. The Nordic country is not part of the EU, but is part of its single market and has applied most EU sanctions against Russia.

  • China to use Shanghai exchange for yuan energy deals with Gulf nations - Xi | Reuters
    https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/chinas-xi-tells-gulf-nations-use-shanghai-exchange-yuan-energy-deals-2022-1

    BEIJING, Dec 9 (Reuters) - China’s President Xi Jinping said in Riyadh on Friday that China and Gulf nations should make full use of the Shanghai Petroleum and National Gas Exchange as a platform to carry out yuan settlement of oil and gas trade.

    #petrodollar #petroyuan

  • Nord Stream operators : Authorities won’t allow us to inspect damaged pipelines | Reuters
    https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/nord-stream-2-says-it-plans-examine-pipelines-after-police-probe-2022-10-04

    The operators of two Baltic Sea gas pipelines that linked Russia and Germany until they both sprang major leaks last week said they were unable to inspect the damaged sections because of restrictions imposed by Danish and Swedish authorities.

    Europe is investigating what caused three pipelines in the Nord Stream network to burst in an act of suspected sabotage near Swedish and Danish waters that Moscow quickly sought to pin on the West, suggesting the United States stood to gain.

    Nord Stream 2 AG, Switzerland-based operator of that gas pipeline, said on Tuesday it will examine the condition of the leaking pipelines once a police investigation of the “crime scene” is completed and a cordon is lifted.

    Later on Tuesday, Nord Stream AG, operator of the older Nord Stream 1 pipeline, said they had been told by Danish authorities that receiving the necessary permits to carry out an inspection could take over 20 working days.

    According to the Swedish authorities, a ban on shipping, anchoring, diving, using of underwater vehicles, geophysical mapping, etc. has been introduced to conduct a state investigation around the damage sites in the Baltic Sea,” Nord Stream said in a press release.

    Pressure in the pipeline had stabilised as of Monday, Nord Stream added.

    Switzerland-based Nord Stream 2 said in emailed comments it was “cooperating with all relevant authorities”.

    • Enquête terminée du côté suédois, le bouclage de la zone a été levé – communiqué de presse du Parquet suédois
      L’enquête préliminaire conforte les soupçons de sabotage (surprise !) le procureur n’en dira pas plus.

      Avspärrningarna i Östersjön har hävts | Åklagarmyndigheten
      https://via.tt.se/pressmeddelande/avsparrningarna-i-ostersjon-har-havts?publisherId=3235540&releaseId=3332279

      Kammaråklagare Mats Ljungqvist har beslutat att häva avspärrningarna runt Nord Stream 1 och 2. Brottsplatsundersökningen är nu avslutad och misstanken har stärkts.

      – Vi kan konstatera att det har skett detonationer vid Nord Stream 1 och 2 i svensk ekonomisk zon, som har medfört omfattande skador på gasledningarna. Brottsplatsundersökningen har stärkt misstankarna om grovt sabotage. Det har gjorts beslag på brottsplatsen och dessa ska nu undersökas. Det råder förundersökningssekretess och ärendet är mycket känsligt. Samarbetet mellan Åklagarmyndigheten, Säkerhetspolisen, Kustbevakningen och Försvarsmakten fungerar mycket bra. Det är en allvarlig händelse och det är ett styrkebesked att inblandade myndigheteter på bästa sätt fullgör sina respektive uppgifter, säger kammaråklagare Mats Ljungqvist som leder förundersökningen.

      – Sverige har med stöd av FN:s havsrättskonvention, som är införlivad i svensk lagstiftning, jurisdiktion över en anläggning som den som Nord Stream har anlagt, i den delsträcka som befinner sig inom svensk ekonomisk zon, säger Mats Ljungqvist.

      Svensk ekonomisk zon utgör juridiskt i detta avseende ett mellanting mellan svenskt territorialvatten och det internationella havet. Inom den ekonomiska zonen kan den så kallade kuststaten genom till exempel skyddszoner tillfälligt begränsa de rättigheter som finns på det internationella havet.

      – Det har varit fråga om en avspärrning av ett mycket begränsat område både i tiden och till ytan. Enligt havsrättskonventionen ska hänsyn tas till skälighet och alla relevanta omständigheter när intressen står mot varandra i den ekonomiska zonen. I det ingår att ta hänsyn till den betydelse som berörda intressen har, såväl för respektive parter som för hela det internationella samfundet. Mot den bakgrunden gav jag direktiv om att tillfälligt spärra av och genomföra en brottsplatsundersökning, säger Mats Ljungqvist.

      Åklagaren har inte möjlighet att vara tillgänglig för frågor från media. När ytterligare information finns lämnas den i ett pressmeddelande.

  • Russia seizes control of Sakhalin gas project, raises stakes with West | Reuters
    https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russia-decree-sakhalin-2-project-knocks-mitsui-mitsubishi-shares-2022-07-01
    https://www.reuters.com/resizer/YqteyEQxRPpMTLo4Dx14MpVlxUg=/1200x0/filters:quality(80)/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/PWSSON23QBO2LJD7WXCGHQYVYI.jpg
    A general view of the liquefied natural gas plant operated by Sakhalin Energy at Prigorodnoye on the Pacific island of Sakhalin, Russia July 15, 2021.
    REUTERS/Vladimir Soldatkin

    President Vladimir Putin has raised the stakes in an economic war with the West and its allies with a decree that seizes full control of the Sakhalin-2 gas and oil project in Russia’s far east, a move that could force out Shell and Japanese investors.

    The order, signed on Thursday, creates a new firm to take over all rights and obligations of Sakhalin Energy Investment Co, in which Shell and two Japanese trading companies Mitsui and Mitsubishi hold just under 50%. read more

    The five-page decree, which follows Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, indicates the Kremlin will now decide whether the foreign partners can stay.

    State-run Gazprom already has a 50% plus one share stake in Sakhalin-2, which accounts for about 4% of the world’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) production.

    The move threatens to unsettle an already tight LNG market, although Moscow said it saw no reason for Sakhalin-2 deliveries to stop. Japan imports 10% of its LNG each year from Russia, mainly under long-term contract from Sakhalin-2. The action also raises the risks facing Western companies still in Russia.
    […]
    Shell, which has already written off the value of its Russian assets, made clear months ago it intended to quit Sakhalin-2 and has been in talks with potential buyers. It said on Friday it was assessing the Russian decree.

    Sources have said Shell believed there was a risk Russia would nationalise foreign-held assets, while Putin has repeatedly said Moscow would retaliate against the United States and its allies for freezing Russian assets and other sanctions.

    Sakhalin-2, in which Shell has a 27.5% minus one share stake, is one of the world’s largest LNG projects with output of 12 million tonnes. Its cargoes mainly head to Japan, South Korea, China, India and other Asian countries.

  • La Russie coupe le gaz à l’Europe, ce qui renforce le choc d’inflation et fait peser un risque de rationnement, « au Kremlin, on doit bien rigoler » - Actualité des marchés
    https://investir.lesechos.fr/marches/actualites/la-russie-coupe-le-gaz-a-l-europe-ce-qui-renforce-le-choc-d-inflat

    En Allemagne, il a été calculé que, en cas de rationnement, le PIB baisserait entre 0,5 et 3 points par rapport au scénario de base sans rationnement. « Cette fourchette est si large qu’elle couvre des scénarios très différents, allant de la stagnation à une récession sévère », décrypte Bruno Cavalier. A écouter les milieux d’affaires allemands, qui annoncent un impact bien plus considérable, peut-être à deux chiffres, un rationnement conduira à coup sûr à une récession.

    Russia gas halt could deal 12.7% hit to German H2 performance | Reuters
    https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russia-gas-halt-could-deal-127-hit-german-h2-performance-2022-06-28

  • Powers need to study all oil options, including Iran, Venezuela - France
    https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/france-wants-iran-venezuela-return-oil-markets-2022-06-27

    “So there is a knot that needs to be untied if applicable... to get Iranian oil back on the market,” the [French] official told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We have Venezuelan oil that also needs to come back to the market.”

    A second official said all options need to be explored given the stakes, including those involving #Iran and #Venezuela.

    #sanctions #pétrole

    • Iran and Venezuela Could Help Biden’s Gas Crisis If He Lifts U.S. Sanctions
      https://www.newsweek.com/iran-venezuela-could-help-bidens-gas-crisis-if-he-lifts-us-sanctions-17198

      while engaging with the two designated adversaries would likely stir a degree of criticism from hawkish factions at home looking to portray the president as soft on U.S. foes, the rising cost of gas now fluctuating around the unprecedented $5 mark threatened to exact an even higher toll on Biden as his Democratic Party prepared for a contentious midterm election season.

    • US provides Chevron limited authorization to pump oil in Venezuela after reaching humanitarian agreement
      https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/26/politics/us-chevron-venezuela-oil-agreement/index.html

      The US has granted #Chevron limited authorization to resume pumping oil from Venezuela following the announcement Saturday that the Venezuelan government and the opposition group have reached an agreement on humanitarian relief and will continue to negotiate for a solution to the country’s chronic economic and political crisis, including a focus on the 2024 elections.

      [...] The official also highlighted the license’s limited nature saying that they do not expect this to have a tangible impact on international oil prices and that the move is intended as an inducement for the negotiations — not a reaction to high global oil prices.

  • U.S. to let Eni, Repsol ship Venezuela oil to Europe for debt | Reuters
    https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/exclusive-us-let-eni-repsol-ship-venezuela-oil-europe-debt-sources-2022-06-

    Italian oil company Eni SpA and Spain’s Repsol SA could begin shipping Venezuelan oil to Europe as soon as next month to make up for Russian crude, five people familiar with the matter said, resuming oil-for-debt swaps halted two years ago when Washington stepped up sanctions on Venezuela.

    The volume of oil Eni and Repsol are expected to receive is not large, one of the people said, and any impact on global oil prices will be modest. But Washington’s greenlight to resume Venezuela’s long-frozen oil flows to Europe could provide a symbolic boost for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

    The U.S. State Department gave the nod to the two companies to resume shipments in a letter, the people said. U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration hopes the Venezuelan crude can help Europe cut dependence on Russia and re-direct some of Venezuela’s cargoes from China. Coaxing Maduro into restarting political talks with Venezuela’s opposition is another aim, two of the people told Reuters.

    The two European energy companies, which have joint ventures with Venezuelan state-run oil company PDVSA, can count the crude cargoes toward unpaid debts and late dividends, the people said.

    A key condition, one of the people said, was that the oil received “has to go to Europe. It cannot be resold elsewhere.

    Washington believes PDVSA will not benefit financially from these cash-free transactions, unlike Venezuela’s current oil sales to China, that person said. China has not signed onto Western sanctions on Russia, and has continued to buy Russian oil and gas despite U.S. appeals.

    The authorizations came last month, but details and resale restrictions have not been reported previously.

    Eni declined comment, citing a policy of not commenting “on issues of potential commercial sensitivity.” Repsol did not reply to requests for comment.

    OTHERS EXCLUDED
    Washington has not made similar allowances for U.S. oil major Chevron Corp, India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd and France’s Maurel & Prom SA, which also lobbied the U.S. State Department and U.S. Treasury Department to take oil in return for billions of dollars in accumulated debts from Venezuela.

    All five oil companies halted swapping oil for debt in mid-2020 in the midst of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign that cut Venezuela’s oil exports but failed to oust Maduro.

    PDVSA has not scheduled Eni and Repsol to take any cargoes this month, according to a June 3 preliminary PDVSA loading program seen by Reuters.

  • ​EU sees way to pay for Russian gas without breaching sanctions | Reuters
    https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/eu-says-gas-payments-may-be-possible-under-russian-roubles-proposal-without

    EU companies may be able to work around Russia’s demand to receive gas payments in roubles without breaching sanctions if they pay in euros or dollars which are then converted into the Russian currency, the European Commission said on Friday.

    […]

    In March [Moscow] issued a decree proposing that energy buyers open accounts at Gazprombank to make payments in euros or dollars, which would then be converted to roubles.

    […]

    The EU’s sanctions regime does not prohibit companies from opening accounts with Gazprombank, or engaging with the bank to attempt to seek a solution, the document said.

  • Russia’s Fortuna vessel moves to German waters for Nord Stream 2 construction | Reuters
    https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russias-fortuna-vessel-moves-german-waters-nord-stream-2-construction-2021-

    Russian vessel Fortuna has started laying pipes for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in German waters, the gas project said on Sunday, citing Germany’s Waterway and Shipping Authority.

    Nord Stream 2, which runs on the bed of the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, bypassing Ukraine, has faced criticism from the United States, which claims it will increase European reliance on Russian gas.

    Fortuna and other vessels taking part in the project have been added to a U.S. sanctions list.

    All works are performed in accordance with the available permits,” Nord Stream 2 said in an emailed comment.

    Fortuna will be working in German waters from May 22 to June 30, having earlier laid pipes in Denmark.

    The Kremlin says the $11 billion venture led by Russian state energy company Gazprom (GAZP.MM) is a commercial project, but several U.S. administrations have opposed the project.

    • Gazoduc : Joe Biden renonce à sanctionner Nord Stream 2 - Challenges
      https://www.challenges.fr/energie-et-environnement/les-vraies-raisons-du-revirement-surprise-de-joe-biden-sur-le-projet-de-g

      La raison du revirement de Joe Biden se trouve davantage à Berlin qu’à Moscou. Le président américain est certes à la recherche d’une relation apaisée avec Poutine. Les deux hommes devraient d’ailleurs se rencontrer prochainement. Mais Biden n’a pas grand-chose à attendre du Kremlin qui campe depuis des années sur une position dure- on le voit aujourd’hui avec l’affaire Alexeï Navalny. Washington cherche en revanche à renouer avec l’Europe et particulièrement Berlin. « L’ennemi c’est la Chine et face à Pékin, Biden a besoin d’alliés, il a besoin d’avoir un front plus large, analyse Pascal Boniface, directeur de l’Institut de relations internationales et stratégiques (IRIS). Son geste vis-à-vis de NS 2 est aussi de la Realpolitik. Biden a peut-être en tête le précédent de 1981 quand Ronald Reagan s’était opposé à un gazoduc terrestre d’Union soviétique vers l’Europe. François Mitterrand et Helmut Schmidt avaient alors résisté aux pressions et le gazoduc a vu le jour. »

      L’autre question qui taraude les chancelleries concerne les éventuelles contreparties de l’Allemagne au geste de Biden. « Peut-être que Berlin s’est engagée à créer des terminaux de regazéification pour accueillir le gaz américain », s’interroge Thierry Bros, professeur à Sciences Po et expert reconnu du gaz. Ce que d’autres pays européens ont déjà fait. Notamment la Pologne qui cherche à tout prix à s’affranchir des importations de gaz russe.