Panic about panic: Russia and the world-system today
One doesn’t hear much discussion of these foreign policy issues in Russia. What one hears discussed instead is how best to handle the acute budgetary shortfall that the Russian state is facing.
Russia
Peak Oil Review – Dec 29
A weekly review including: Oil and the Global Economy, The Middle East and North Africa, China, Russia/Ukraine, Quote of the Week, The Briefs.
Nuclear war: A forgotten threat to human sustainability
The possibility of a new Cold War between Russia and the United States and its NATO allies brings with it the spectre of nuclear war.
Did Russia and China just sign a death warrant for U.S. LNG exports?
Russia and China have signed two large natural gas deals in the last six months as Russia turns its attention eastward in reaction to sanctions and souring relations with Europe, currently Russia’s largest energy export market. But the move has implications beyond Europe.
Perverse outcomes: Lifting U.S. oil export ban would mean greater dependence on foreign oil
There is a case regarding market efficiency for overturning America’s oil export ban, but this is NOT the one the industry is using in its public relations campaign. That’s because increased efficiency in the world oil market would actually make the country’s oil supply more vulnerable to events abroad.
Ukraine: Challenging the pipelines narrative
As a former correspondent in Kiev, Moscow and Georgia I find the attempt to link the Ukraine conflict with pipelines and natural resources is highly debatable.
Ukraine, Russia and the nonexistent U.S. oil and natural gas “weapon”
There is no U.S. oil and gas export "weapon" to aim at Russia to counter its moves in the Ukraine. The U.S. isn’t even supplying its own needs. But you wouldn’t know that from media reports and editorials in the last week.
Waltzing in the dark. Will Russia shut off gas supplies to Europe?
Waltzing with the Russian bear has never been a feat Europe was able to handle. With the fall of the Yanukovych regime already accomplished, the EU is now on a collision course with Moscow, which has threatened to cut off gas supplies to Ukraine in an effort to strong-arm the new administration in Kiev. My piece argues that Brussels is unprepared for such an outcome and that a three-pronged strategy, accomplishable in the medium term, is needed in order to achieve the long vaunted goal of energy independence from Moscow’s whims.
Shock over Ukraine
Ukraine is shaping up to be a lot like Yugoslavia, except with more than twice as many people, lots of crazed street fighters who think they now own the place, and a role critical to European energy security. If you aren’t in shock about this, then you haven’t been paying attention.
Gas Flaring: The Burning Issue
Global gas flaring–the burning of natural gas associated with oil extraction processes–remains stubbornly high. We examine the determinants of gas flaring in three prominent cases: Russia and Nigeria as the two largest emitters of flare gas, and the United States as a rapidly expanding newcomer to the club.
Former Soviet Union crude oil exports declined by 5.5 % in last 2 years
Russia is at its 2nd and last oil peak. The easy oil is gone. The FSU export peak comes ahead of the production peak.