A Snapshot of Key Developments in the External Relations of the Russian Gas Sector
By Dr Jack Sharples, EGF Associate Researcher on the external dimensions of Russian gas and Lecturer in Energy Politics at the European University of St Petersburg

Key points:

• European Commission further postpones ruling on use of OPAL pipeline
• Gazprom and Wintershall finalise asset-swap, as Gazprom gains control of Europe’s largest underground gas storage facility (UGSF)
• Lithuania breaks free of Gazprom monopoly with first LNG delivery
• Gazprom and Naftogaz agree on short-term ‘winter package’ until March 2015 to ensure gas supplies and transit during the upcoming winter
• Nord Stream: Nord Stream AG deny reports that plans to extend Nord Stream to the UK will be shelved amid tensions between Russia and the EU
• South Stream: Hungarian MVM shows its support for Gazprom with gas storage deal; MVM also pledges to complete the Hungarian section of South Stream by 2017
• Gazprom CEO holds talks, discusses funding from Chinese banks and gas supply via the ‘Western Route’
• Gazprom refills Serbian gas storage facility to capacity in preparation for winter

• November 5, 2014

The White House said on Friday it regretted Russia's decision not to attend preparatory meeting last week for the 2016 nuclear security summit.

• November 4, 2014

Russia has moved troops closer to the border with Ukraine and continues to support rebels in the country's east, NATO's chief said on Tuesday, after an election held by the pro-Russian separatists and condemned by Kiev and Western leaders.

• November 4, 2014

Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine staged swearing in ceremonies for their leaders on Tuesday after votes dismissed as a farce by Kiev, which says they violated terms of a peace plan to end a war that has killed more than 4,000 people.

• November 4, 2014

Data from both sides of the Atlantic will give clues in the coming week on just how bad the euro zone economy is and just how sustainable is its U.S. counterpart.

• November 3, 2014

China's economy lost further momentum heading into the fourth quarter as a cooling property market weighed on activity and export demand softened, surveys showed on Monday, putting Beijing's official target for the year at even greater risk.

• November 3, 2014

The European Commission said on Monday it had pushed back a deadline for deciding whether to give Russia more access to the Opal gas pipeline across Germany until the end of January from the end of October.

• November 3, 2014

Pro-Russian rebels voted in an election to set up a separatist leadership in eastern Ukraine on Sunday, taking the war-torn region closer to Russia and defying Kiev and the West, as shelling continued across the territory.

• November 2, 2014