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2018-05-18 08:55:00

U.S. - RUSSIA PIPELINE SANCTIONS

U.S. - RUSSIA PIPELINE SANCTIONS

REUTERS - The planned Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany raises U.S. intelligence and military concerns since it would allow Moscow to place new listening and monitoring technology in the Baltic Sea, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday.

Sandra Oudkirk, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Diplomacy, said in Berlin she would meet German officials to voice Washington's concerns about the subsea project.

A consortium of western companies and Russia's Gazprom said this week it was starting preparatory work off Germany's Baltic coast.

Oudkirk told reporters the U.S. Congress had given the president new authority to impose sanctions against a variety of Russian pipeline projects.

Any companies involved were in "an elevated position of sanctions risk", she said. However, she added that Washington was focused on using diplomatic means to halt Nord Stream 2, one of several Russian projects to export gas to western Europe via routes avoiding Ukraine, with which Moscow is involved in a series of disputes.

The U.S. push came a day before Chancellor Angela Merkel travels to Sochi to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks that will touch on Nord Stream 2, as well as the U.S. decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.

The German government's point man for Russia, Dirk Wiese, said it would continue to look for "islands of cooperation" with Russia, including a continued commitment to the Iranian nuclear accord, despite differences over Ukraine and EU sanctions.

He said Germany viewed Nord Stream 2 as primarily a commercial project, but saw the need to consider the interests of Ukraine as a gas transit country, and of countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

Oudkirk said Washington's objections included past Russian moves to turn off gas supplies to Ukraine and other countries, adding that it would perpetuate "vulnerabilities" in Russian-European ties for another 30 to 40 years.

The United States also opposes the TurkStream land pipeline that would run through Turkey for the same reasons, she said.

MILITARY THREAT

She said the Baltic was a congested, sensitive military area. "When we look at the ability of governments and companies to use infrastructure deployments as a means to convey devices and technologies that can listen and follow and monitor, that is a concern with regard to this particular undersea pipeline project in the Baltic Sea," she added.

"The new project would permit new technologies to be placed along the pipeline route and that is a threat."

Oudkirk rejected suggestions that Washington is opposing the pipeline to help U.S. liquefied natural gas exports.

The Nord Stream 2 project has said it will tap banks for financing in the fourth quarter of 2018 or early next year.

Denmark must still rule on whether the pipeline can be built near its coast, and other routine permissioning processes are still under way in Sweden and Russia.

Oudkirk said Washington supported the planned Danish-Polish Baltic Pipe because it would diversify sources and routes. The pipeline, to be built by 2022, is aimed at reducing reliance on Russian gas.

Gazprom's Western partners are energy companies Uniper, Wintershall, Engie, Austria's OMV and Anglo-Dutch group Shell.

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Earlier:

 Russia Sanctions
2018, May, 7, 08:40:00

RUSSIA'S OIL&GAS EXPORTS UP

OGJ - “I frankly don’t see it as a strategy,” Mitrova admitted. “When we look at Russia’s economy, energy is an important part. Hydrocarbons still represent the biggest share of its federal budget, but their share has dropped from 50% to 40%. There is no consistent long-term plan, and many decisions are driven by short-term adaptations. There is no clear consensus.”

 Russia Sanctions
2018, April, 9, 11:20:00

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U.S.DT - The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), in consultation with the Department of State, today designated seven Russian oligarchs and 12 companies they own or control, 17 senior Russian government officials, and a state-owned Russian weapons trading company and its subsidiary, a Russian bank.

 

 Russia Sanctions
2018, March, 19, 08:10:00

INCREDIBLE RUSSIA SANCTIONS

FT - “Resilience to the sanctions has been very high. Currently, we see no serious consequences,” said Tatiana Mitrova, director of the Skolkovo Energy Centre in Moscow. “It came as a big surprise to many.” 

Russia Sanctions
2018, March, 18, 11:40:00

U.S. - RUSSIA SANCTIONS AGAIN

PENNENERGY - The Trump administration accused Russia on Thursday of a concerted, ongoing operation to hack and spy on the U.S. energy grid and other critical infrastructure, and separately imposed sanctions on Russian officials for alleged high-tech interference in the 2016 American presidential election.

Russia Sanctions
2018, February, 16, 23:40:00

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МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - Комментируя внесение его в «кремлевский список» Минфина США, Александр Новак признался, что вспоминает о нём только из-за постоянных вопросов журналистов. «Мы продолжаем работать. И в принципе нет никаких изменений. Всё как прежде».

 Russia Sanctions
2018, January, 31, 11:00:00

U.S. - RUSSIA SANCTIONS

U.S.DT - The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today designated 21 individuals and 9 entities under four Executive Orders (E.O.s) related to Russia and Ukraine, including three individuals and two entities related to Russia’s transfer of four turbines made by a Russian-German joint venture to Crimea.

 Russia Sanctions
2017, July, 24, 13:50:00

RUSSIA SANCTIONS AGAIN

"The legislation, if enacted, is a big political win for members of Congress who want to take a strong stance on Russia," Elizabeth Rosenberg, a senior fellow and director of the energy, economics and security program at the Center for a New American Security, said Sunday. "It will rearrange the way the global energy industry does business with Russia and significantly increase the risk around dealings with Russia."

 

 

 

Tags: USA, RUSSIA, SANCTIONS, NORD, STREAM