/ world today news/ Despite the economic sanctions of the European Union, Russia, as before, remains a global player in the world energy market, the International Policy Digest article notes.
“Last year, a number of Russian energy companies and their executives ended up on the US and European sanctions list. But despite this, Russia continues to conduct reliable energy diplomacy”, the article emphasizes. This applies especially to the deal with China, which has taken a significant place in Russia’s energy strategy. The concluded deal is worth 700 billion dollars. In addition, Russia overtook Saudi Arabia as China’s largest oil exporter, reaching 930,000 barrels per day in May 2015.
“Russia is looking for an acceptable alternative to the South Stream gas pipeline on the European front. This project became a victim of politics, but “Gazprom” managed to find a solution thanks to the possibilities of “Turkish Stream” to supply natural gas to Turkey and Europe through the gas transport node of the European part of Turkey”, notes the analyst. In addition, in June of this year, Moscow signed a contract with the Greek government worth 2 billion dollars for the construction of the “South European Gas Pipeline” as an extension of “Turkish Stream”. It is expected that the project will start functioning by 2019. The US and the EU have already expressed their critical position on this project.
Russia is also a key player in the Balkan gas market. Macedonia and Serbia express their great desire to participate in “Turkish Stream”. According to the publication, the enthusiasm of these countries is fueled by “economic and political troubles”, “traditional proximity to Russia” and by the difficulties in their accession to the EU. “The presence of Russian energy in the Balkans worries the West. For example, in Serbia, Gazprom controls most of the energy sector through the Serbian oil company NIS. In addition, Russian companies control over 70% of the petroleum products in Bulgaria, as well as practically the entire oil processing sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, notes the analyst.
On the African continent, Russian investments are involved in a number of projects, starting with the creation of the joint Russian-Nigerian enterprise for the exploration of gas deposits in the country and ending with the construction of four nuclear power plants with the help of the Russian nuclear giant Rosatom, the article notes. On the other side of the globe, in Latin America, Russia continues to increase its influence. Recently, the Russian Federation and Venezuela agreed on a contract worth $14 billion with a follow-on credit of $5 billion to increase the production of Venezuela’s national oil company PDSVA.
Considering the high tension in relations between Russia and the West, Russia continues to seek allies thanks to its influence in the field of energy, its resources and technological know-how, the article concludes.
#IPD #West #failed #reduce #Russias #role #energy #market
