EGF Turkey File (106 Kb) Insights into Turkish Domestic and International Politics during October 2011
Key Points:
- Turkey’s economy continues to flourish in comparison with other developed economies on its European
periphery. The country gained over a million jobs and clocked an 11 percent growth rate in the first quarter
of 2011 while its GDP grew by 8.8 percent.
- Germany’s Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle, leant his support to the Turkish accession bid to the EU,
saying that the EU should be “fair to Turkey in the negotiation process.”
- Ankara continues its condemnation of Syrian violence against opposition and activist members, and
according to a number of reports, is now hosting a group of former Syrian soldiers called the Free Syrian
Army.
- A large earthquake in the Van province has exacerbated Kurdish-Turkish relations with claims of bias being
leveled at the government for the manner of its response to the disaster in the mainly Kurdish region.
- Turkish Security Forces (TSK) continue their assault on PKK strongholds in Iraq after a devastating attack in
mid-October that left 24 TSK soldiers dead. On October 28, police arrested a number of pro-Kurdish BDP
Party members in and around Istanbul, including member of the intra-party constitutional commission, Buşra
Ersanli.
- Azerbaijan and Turkey finally conclude a natural gas supply agreement following two years of negotiations,
while BOTAS informs Gazprom that it will not renew a key existing gas supply contract with Russia.
READ MORE
- EGF Editorial |
Published on EGF: 13.11.2011
| Energy
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EGF Turkey File (100 Kb) Insights into Turkish Domestic and International Politics during September 2011
Key developments:
- Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan’s September is filled with tumultuous foreign policy issues, coalescing
disputes with Israel, Cyprus and the world’s stance towards Somalia in his statement to the UN General
Assembly.
- The prime minister visited Libya, Egypt and Tunisia in a quick tour of countries touched by the Arab Spring
while continuing his condemnation of Syrian repression of civilians and rebuffing Iranian and Russian anger
at Ankara’s participation in NATO’s missile shield.
- Kurdish-related violence seizes the country through terrorist attacks and military operations between PKK
fighters and the Turkish military. BDP Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party parliamentary deputies end their
boycott of the parliament in order to end the hostilities.
- The European Commission instigates raids on Gazprom subsidiaries on suspected competition violations, with
many calling it a political move to garner support for Nabucco and undermine South Stream and Nord
Stream.
- Energy major BP announces a planned pipeline from the Shah Deniz II field in Azerbaijan traversing Turkey,
Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary.
READ MORE
- EGF Editorial |
Published on EGF: 12.10.2011
| Energy
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EGF Gazprom Monitor (123 Kb)
Issue 8: August-September 2011
A Snapshot of Key Developments in the External Relations of the Russian Gas Sector
Key points:
- Gazprom partners raided by European Commission Anti-trust Inspectors
- The dispute between Moscow and Kiev continues. Ukraine knows that it has a weak bargaining position and
is in no hurry to make concessions to Russia
- Prime Minister Vladimir Putin launched the first string of Nord Stream, meaning Ukraine is now in danger of
losing its status as the main transit country for Russia’s European gas exports
- Gazprom has signed roadmap with South Korea's Kogas for the construction of a pipeline from Vladivostok to
South Korea
- Gazprom may suspend its project in Nigeria because of the lack of a law governing the oil and gas industry,
although experts say Gazprom may have lost interest in this project because of potential difficulties in selling
Nigerian gas
- Gazprom is looking to acquire two state-owned oil and gas companies in Kyrgyzstan
- The Gazprom affiliate Vemex has acquired a 51% stake in RSP Energy, marking the first time a Gazprom
Group company will sell gas and electricity to Czech households
- Gazprom has signed a legally-binding agreement with its European partners on the implementation of the
South Stream project, but has attracted criticism from the EU. According to Russian sources, EU Energy
Commissioner, Guenther Oettinger, views South Stream as an attempt by Moscow to derail the ‘Southern
Corridor’ gas supply diversification concept
- In line with new oil production projects in the region, Gazprom Neft is considering the construction of a new
oil refinery near Murmansk
- Gazprom expects a doubling of the Mineral Extraction Tax by 2013.
READ MORE
- EGF Editorial |
Published on EGF: 12.10.2011
| Energy
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EGF Turkey File (99 Kb) Insights into Turkish Domestic and International Politics during August 2011
Key developments:
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Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan visits Mogadishu on a famine aid mission, the first visit by a non-African head
of state in nearly 20 years. The trip is a huge boost to Turkey’s international image.
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Violence in the south-east of the country continues, leading to Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) cross-border raids
into Iraq.
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Following criticism from the US Secretary of State, the justice ministry contradicts the number of journalists
said to be held by Turkish authorities.
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Ankara continues to condemn the Syrian regime despite not calling for the resignation of President Bashar al-
Assad. The country wins a seat at the Paris meeting of the new Libyan government following the apparent
collapse of the Gaddafi regime.
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Azerbaijan and Turkey continue to negotiate a gas transit agreement, while Turkey’s reliance on foreign
energy imports has reportedly increased 5 % since the AKP came to power.
READ MORE
- EGF Editorial |
Published on EGF: 15.09.2011
| Energy
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EGF Gazprom Monitor (134 Kb)
Issue 7: June-July 2011
A Snapshot Of Key Developments In The External Relations Of The Russian Gas Sector
This year, Gazprom is likely to report an income of about $60 billion from the export of 158 bcm of gas to Europe, according to expert estimates. This represents a 12 percent growth in income compared to the previous year and, according to Alexander Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Gazprom’s Board of Executive Directors, the company’s profits will be close to the record-breaking levels of 2008, when its income from exports reached $65 bn. READ MORE
- EGF Editorial |
Published on EGF: 21.08.2011
| Energy
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Ukraine and Slovakia in a post-crisis architecture of European energy security (6 Mb) A wide strip of mainland and continental shelf territory starting from the Rus- sian sector of the Arctic up to the Arabian Peninsula can be labelled an Arctic - Arabian hydrocarbon belt (CH-belt) of Eurasia. It is the strip where the major mainland oil and gas fields are located on the territory of Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, and the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula countries. As the production of hydrocarbons has been developing, transport routes to the markets of their consumption, the major of which is the European Union, started to branch off this diagonal CH-belt of Eurasia in the latitudinal direction. Practically, these transport routes connect the area of production (upstream) with the consumption market (downstream).
- Mykhailo Gonchar, Alexander Duleba, Oleksandr Malynovskyi |
Published on EGF: 27.06.2011
| Energy
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EGF Gazprom Monitor (137 Kb)
Issue 6: May 2011
A Snapshot Of Key Developments In The External Relations Of The Russian Gas Sector
The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, seems to be optimistic about the possibility of obtaining Russian credits to rescue the Belarusian economy. On May 17, he
stated that Moscow was ready to lend Minsk $6 billion in 2011. However, the Kremlin responded by suggesting that it will only lend $1 billion and that even this amount will only be possible in combination with the sale of a number of Belarusian assets, notably a 50 percent stake in Beltransgas. Gazprom already holds a 50 percent stake in the company. READ MORE
- EGF Editorial |
Published on EGF: 13.06.2011
| Energy
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EGF Gazprom Monitor (137 Kb)
Issue 5: April 2011
A Snapshot Of Key Developments In The External Relations Of The Russian Gas Sector
On April 25 of this year Gazprom head, Alexei Miller, predicted that the price of gas sold to European gas consumers would increase to $500 per 1,000 cubic metres by the end of 2011. This suggests a price hike of almost 40 percent as currently the average European gas price is $350 per 1,000 cubic metres. While Gazprom officials do make public references to limitations to increases in the gas price, most such comments tend to refer to Russian domestic gas prices. READ MORE
- EGF Editorial |
Published on EGF: 01.05.2011
| Energy
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EGF Gazprom Monitor (133 Kb)
Issue 4: March 2011
A Snapshot Of Key Developments In The External Relations Of The Russian Gas Sector
The dispute between the Lithuanian Government and Gazprom continues. As we wrote in the preceding issue of the Gazprom Monitor, the dispute flared up after the Russian monopoly refused to give Vilnius the same gas price discount that it grants to the other Baltic States. Consequently, the Lithuanian side is forced to pay high gas prices. In response, Vilnius is trying to use the implementation of the Third Energy Package, in relation to the gas transport system of the country, as a lever of pressure against Gazprom. In the end this may bring about both a rupture in the agreement on the privatisation of Lietuvos dujos (37 percent of which belongs to Gazprom) and the separation of control over gas transmission pipelines from companies which own them. READ MORE
- EGF Editorial |
Published on EGF: 29.04.2011
| Energy
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Poland’s elusive quest for energy security: core challenges for the medium term (88 Kb) By Hrvoje Ćiković, Expert on EU Integration, Energy Security and New Diplomacy
In recent years energy security has become not only a political buzzword but a fundamental concept in (re)shaping relations between governments within the
framework of a newly emerging global energy order. Furthermore, factors such as the growing asymmetrical dependence of energy consuming states on producing states, the delicate question of transport (particularly the definition of future pipeline routes), changing trends of economic development, and geopolitical tensions tend to distort established negotiating positions and shift the balance of global power relations. In such a complicated context, it is easy to overlook developments in countries such as Poland which are not in the international spotlight. As Poland has shown resilience in avoiding recession and is becoming an important player in the international arena, it may be interesting to examine the actual dynamics and the core challenges of the country’s energy sector. READ MORE
- Hrvoje Ćiković |
Published on EGF: 25.04.2011
| Energy
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