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Russia seeks control over Crimea’s oil and gas production

Oilfield Technology,


Addressing Russia's RIA news agency last week, the speaker of Crimea's Moscow-backed parliament stated that Russian companies such as Gazprom should be involved in Crimea's oil and gas production.

"Russia, and Gazprom, should take care of the oil and gas production. It's not our issue," Vladimir Konstantinov said, adding that "These are our oilfields and we will fight for them."

This follows statements from Crimea's first deputy prime minister last week maintaining the region would take ownership of Ukrainian state companies on its territory, including Black Sea natural gas fields.

Oil and gas supply uncertainty for the EU

The recent events in Crimea have seen gas prices rise by 2.8% amid concerns that an escalating situation would lead to trade sanctions on Russian natural gas exports, which account for a fifth of the country’s economy.

Additionally, around a quarter of the EU’s gas supply comes from Russia, half of which is piped through Ukraine. There is now a real risk that Ukraine would block Russia from using its pipelines, meaning alternative energy supplies from for example the US, would need to be obtained.

Bracing for interference

Oil and gas companies in the region are already preparing for disruption. Chevron, the American energy giant that has invested heavily in Ukraine, has tightened security for employees involved in exploring reserves of shale gas.

Economic effects

In related news, Russian Deputy Economy Minister Andrei Klepach has said that the Russian rouble will not collapse.

The currency recently fell to all-time lows against the dollar and the euro. It closed 2.2% down versus the dollar last week. Although, Russian stocks have made a modest recovery: today the dollar-denominated RTS index was up 1.4% at 1078 points, while the rouble-denominated Micex climbed 1.3% to 1254 points.

Edited from various sources by Cecilia Rehn

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/17032014/russia_seeks_control_over_crimea_oil_and_gas_production/

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