By Jack Sharples, Research Fellow of the Oxford Institute of Energy Studies and EGF Associate Researcher on the External Dimensions of Russian Gas


Dear Colleagues,

It is with great pride that we send you this 100th edition of the Gazprom Monitor.

The Gazprom Monitor was the brainchild of Dr Marat Terterov, Founder of the European Geopolitical Forum and the Brussels Energy Club. The first issue of the Gazprom Monitor was published in December 2010. […] Since that first edition, almost nine years ago, we have seen the launch of Nord Stream, the replacement of South Stream and Nabucco by the Turkish Stream and TANAP-TAP pipelines, a dramatic increase in the use of hub-indexation in place of oil-indexation in Gazprom’s long-term export contracts, the conduct and settlement of the EU antimonopoly investigation into Gazprom, the launch of Gazprom’s own Electronic Sales Platform, the completion of Gazprom’s acquisition of the Belarusian gas pipeline system, the long-running sagas of the Gazprom-Naftogaz and Gazprom-Lithuania arbitration cases, the cessation of direct Ukrainian gas imports from Russia, the sale of Gazprom’s shares in pipelines in the Baltic states, the launch of new LNG import terminals in the Netherlands, Lithuania, Poland, and France, opening the door to competing LNG from around the world including, most recently, from the United States, and the volume of Gazprom’s annual gas exports to Europe growing to record levels in 2017 and 2018.READ MORE

• October 30, 2019

By Fuad Shahbazov, Baku-based independent regional security and defence analyst

On October 3, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev paid an official visit to Russia to attend the 16^th annual meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club, in Sochi (President.az, October 3). Aliyev’s speech at the high-level event touched on multiple topics, including Azerbaijan’s partnership with Russia, the unresolved issue of Karabakh, and regional security in the South Caucasus region, to name a few. Notably, during his remarks, Aliyev declared, “Nagorno-Karabakh is Azerbaijan—exclamation point!” which sparked heated discussions in both Azerbaijani and Armenian mass media and online (Turan Agency, October 4). READ MORE

• October 28, 2019

OPEC has granted Nigeria a higher oil output target under an OPEC-led deal to limit oil supply in a move unannounced by the group, following efforts by Africa’s largest exporter to tweak the agreement to accommodate its expanding oil industry.

• October 9, 2019

Ukraine wants a long-term gas transit contract with Russia based on European standards, the prime minister said on Wednesday, adding Kiev would not agree to a short-term deal that Moscow seeks.

• October 9, 2019

OPEC and other oil producers need to coordinate more closely to reduce market volatility, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday.

• October 2, 2019

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday that he and Saudi Arabia’s new energy minister agreed that all parties should implement the global oil output deal between OPEC and its allies, Interfax news agency reported.

• September 11, 2019

The European Union will do all it can to facilitate talks next week between Ukraine and Russia on future gas transits after their contract expires in January, the bloc’s energy commissioner said on Wednesday.

• September 11, 2019

Indonesia may be able to plug an expected shortfall in nickel pig iron (NPI) supplies caused by its nickel ore export ban starting next year by boosting its own capacity to produce the semi-finished metal used to make stainless steel.

• September 2, 2019