Four states join forces to build an interconnector for Azeri windfarms
Azerbaijan formed a joint-venture company with Georgia, Romania, and Hungary on Tuesday. The aim is to build an interconnector undersea across the Black Sea to connect planned Azeri Windfarms with Europe. Green Energy Corridor Power Company, based in Bucharest, Romanian capital will oversee the construction of a 1,000 megawatt cable that runs 1,100 km (685 miles) from Azerbaijan into Romania. This is part of the wider European Union effort to diversify its energy resources and away from Russia during the Ukraine War. The Romanian Minister of Energy…
EU Probes Chinese Subsidies and Imports
The European Commission proposed on Tuesday final duties up to 36.3% for imported electric vehicles manufactured in China. This is part of the most high-profile EU investigation into alleged Chinese subsidies, which has provoked threats from Beijing. The EU has also begun investigations to determine whether Chinese clean-tech producers are dumping subventioned goods onto EU markets, and whether Chinese owned companies receive unfair subsidies when operating within the European Union. The EU executive states that its goal is to prevent unfair market competition and distortion.
Greece's Sole LNG Terminal Ramps Up Imports to Replace Russian Gas
Greece has cut Russian gas imports by more than half this year thanks to increased deliveries from other producers to its sole liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal near Athens, the country's gas grid operator said on Thursday.Greece has relied on Russia for about 40% of its gas needs for years but it has ramped up LNG purchases from other countries in line with a European Union plan to cut dependence on Russian energy. It has been receiving Russian gas via the Turkstream pipeline which also delivers to Hungary via Serbia.Its LNG facility on the Revithoussa islet…
Bourbon Wins Shell Contract in Bulgaria
Bourbon Marine & Logistics said on Thursday it has been awarded a contract from Shell to support the oil major's exploration drilling in the Black Sea offshore Bulgaria.The French services company said its project scope covers the full logistics solution project management, offering for the first time both marine logistics together with shore logistics: marine services, logistics base, warehousing, port facilities, cargo carrying units, waste management, customs clearance, etc.Two large supply vessels will be dedicated to the project, as well as the latest digital data management tools…
Shell Starts Exploratory Drilling off Bulgaria
Royal Dutch Shell said on Tuesday it will start drilling an exploration well in a block off Bulgaria's Black Sea coast next month for oil and gas.Shell has teamed up with Spain's Repsol and Australia's Woodside Energy after sealing a contract with Bulgaria in 2016 for deepwater exploratory drilling as part of Sofia efforts to end its almost complete reliance on Russia's natural gas supplies. It is Shell's only upstream project in Bulgaria."With partners and with good data... we started preparation for drilling 18 months ago.
Putin says TurkStream Gas Pipeline Could be Extended via Greece
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that the TurkStream gas pipeline could be extended further into Europe via Greece, as he met Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in Moscow.The first line of TurkStream, which runs from Russia to Turkey via the Black Sea bed, is intended for Turkish consumption only. Russia has said that a second line will also end in Turkey and Europe must choose the route and build the extension itself.Several routes, including via Greece and Bulgaria, are under consideration."We are ready for implementation of large-scale infrastructure energy projects jointly with Greece.
Russia May Build TurkStream Second Line Directly to Bulgaria
Russia has been discussing the possibility of building the second line of the TurkStream gas pipeline directly to Bulgaria via the Black Sea, a Kremlin spokesman was quoted as saying on Wednesday by Interfax news agency.Russian gas giant Gazprom has built the first line of the pipeline to Turkey for local gas consumption. The second line is designed for consumers in southern Europe.The two lines of TurkStream have the annual capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters each. Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin
Gazprom: Sea Portion of TurkStream First Line Completed
Russia's Gazprom said on Monday it had completed the sea portion of the first line of the TurkStream offshore gas pipeline across the Black Sea.Gazprom, which plans to complete the pipeline in 2019, said in a statement that 1,161 km, of pipe had been laid since it began construction last year.The second line, designed to ship gas to south European countries such as Greece, Bulgaria and Italy, will be laid in the third quarter of 2018, the company said.Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said this month that Turkey's approval for Gazprom's onshore portion of the TurkStream pipeline's second line was still pending.Moscow, which relies on oil and gas revenue, sees new pipelin
Serbia, Russia Revive Gas Pipeline Plans
Russia and Serbia have revived an idea of building a gas pipeline in the Balkan country, a project that would enable Gazprom to step up its gas supplies to Europe, bypassing Ukraine. The Serbian pipeline will be linked to Bulgaria and Hungary via two interconnectors to ship Russian gas from the TurkStream pipeline. The Vienna-based Energy Community Secretariat, which transposes EU energy standards to aspiring member states, criticised the project saying the true aim was to bring Russian gas from TurkStream to the Baumgarten hub near Vienna, not to diversify gas supplies to Serbia.
Inercom Says Up to CEZ to Decide on Bulgarian State Stake
Bulgaria's solar energy producer Inercom said on Friday it will be up to Czech utility CEZ to decide whether to start talks between the companies and the Bulgarian state over a potential Bulgarian government involvement in the sale of CEZ's Bulgarian assets. CEZ has signed a contract with Inercom to sell it a power distributor in the Balkan country along with other assets, but the deal, estimated at about 320 million euros ($393 million) sparked public concerns over Inercom's ability to finance and operate strategic power assets. In written responses to Reuters…
MET International Plans to Boost LNG Trades
Switzerland-based MET International AG plans to boost its liquefied natural gas (LNG) trades in Europe by 50 to 100 percent next year, the company's chief executive said on Tuesday. Gyorgy Vargha said that while the company had traded one cargo, or 60,000 tonnes of LNG, per month this year, this is expected to rise to between 1.5 and two cargoes per month in 2018 as MET seeks to increase its role in that segment. MET International was established in 2010 as the natural gas trading arm of parent MET Group, whose activities include gas, oil and power generation in Hungary, Croatia, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, among others.
Gazprom Says Progress Made in EU Anti-trust Talks
Gazprom said on Friday that anti-trust talks with the European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager had made progress. The Russian state-controlled company is fighting allegations of overcharging customers and blocking East European rivals in contravention of EU rules. It denies the allegations. Gazprom said it and the European Commission had agreed to continue work on "seeking a mutually acceptable solution" in relation to the EU's investigation into the company's practices. "We are satisfied about the outcome of today's meeting, which was conducted in a constructive atmosphere…
Gastrade Signs LNG Deal with State-owned DEPA
Greece's state controlled natural gas firm DEPA signed a cooperation agreement on Thursday with natural gas company Gastrade to participate in the development of a liquified natural gas terminal in northern Greece, DEPA said. Greece currently has one LNG terminal on an islet off Athens. Gastrade, part of Greek energy group Copelouzos, is planning a second LNG terminal near the northern city of Alexandroupolis. The project has been described as a 'project of common interest' by the European Union. Gastrade will hold at least 20 percent stake in the scheme, a source close to the matter said, with LNG carrier operator GasLog another 20 percent.
Activists Protest near Oil Rig in Norway's Arctic Sea Area
Environmental activists protested on Friday near an offshore rig contracted by Statoil in the remote Norwegian Arctic, where the firm is looking for oil and gas deposits. The Nordic country wants to open up northern areas for exploration to offset declining production in the south. Oil and gas production is Norway's leading industry, accounting for 20 percent of its economy. From the Greenpeace Arctic Sunrise ship, 11 campaigners launched inflatable boats carrying banners opposing Statoil's Songa Enabler oil rig, 275 km (170 miles) north of the Norwegian coast, in the Arctic Barents sea. One of the banners read "“The People Vs. Arctic Oil”.
Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Hungary to Link Gas Grids
Gas companies from Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Hungary agreed to link their gas networks to increase security of supplies in southeastern Europe, the Bulgarian energy ministry said. Grid operators Bulgartransgaz, DESFA, FGSZ and Transgaz as well as Greek-Bulgarian ICGB signed a memorandum of understanding for the project in Bucharest on Wednesday. "The parties agree that the memorandum will be a basis for future cooperation.... to build the necessary gas pipeline system to transport natural gas to the transit countries and the European market from Greece through Bulgaria, Romania to Hungary and vice versa," the ministry said in a statement.
Hungary Joins Gazprom Pipeline, as Trump Touts US LNG
Hungary signed a deal with Russia's Gazprom to link the country with the Turkish Stream pipeline by end-2019 on Wednesday, a day ahead of President Donald Trump's trip to Poland, where he is expected to promote U.S. LNG exports. "This will improve Hungary's energy security a great deal, so it is in our strategic interest for this cooperation to start," state news agency MTI quoted Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto as saying. Natural gas supplies to eastern Europe have been a major area of competition between incumbent pipeline power Russia and the United States, which is touting its liquefied natural gas (LNG) potential in the region via onshore LNG terminals.
New Limits on Pollutants from EU Power Plants
Power plants in the European Union will have to cut the amount of toxic pollutants they emit such as nitrogen oxides under new rules approved by EU member states on Friday and widely applauded by environmental groups. The decision imposes stricter limits on emissions of pollutants like nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide, mercury and particulate matter from large combustion plants in Europe. "Air pollution is the prime environmental cause of premature death in the European Union," said Enrico Brivio, a spokesman for the European Commission. Large combustion plants account for a big share of air pollutant emissions across the EU: 46 percent of sulphur dioxide…
Bulgaria Gas Group says Gets EU Funds for Gas Hub Study
Bulgaria's gas network operator Bulgartransgaz said it will get financing from the European Union for a feasibility study on a natural gas hub at the Black Sea port of Varna to store and transport Russian and Caspian gas to southeast and central Europe. Sofia's plans for the hub follow the cancellation of Gazprom's South Stream gas pipeline project that would have shipped Russian gas under the Black Sea via Bulgaria to central Europe. The cancellation was a blow to Bulgaria, which relies almost exclusively on Russian gas. The country hopes the new gas hub would keep Russian gas flowing through its territory on its way to central Europe.
Serbia Should Rework Gazprom Gas Deal
Serbia should renegotiate its long-term gas supply deal with Russia's Gazprom to align it with European gas market rules, a body in charge of extending the EU's energy policy to would-be member states said on Monday. In 2011 Serbia agreed to a 10-year deal to import natural gas from Gazprom at a discounted price under which Gazprom will deliver 5 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas per year to Serbia, or more than double its current annual needs. "The agreement concerned should be renegotiated to remove the illegal destination clause," Janez Kopac, who heads the Energy Community - an international body established by the EU and eight aspiring member states, told Reuters.
Slovenia's Petrol Wins in Bulgaria
Slovenia's energy firm Petrol has won a deal to improve a public heating system in Bulgaria's capital Sofia, which is the biggest heating system of its kind in the Balkans and the second biggest in Europe, Petrol said on Monday. The aim is to reduce the cost of production and distribution of heating, improve supply quality, reduce energy loss and diversify production capacities, Petrol said in a statement. The company did not disclose the value of the deal. Heating systems like the one in Sofia supply heat to apartments across the city from a single or a number of heating facilities. Petrol has signed the deal with Toplofikacia Sofia E.A.D.
