The next decade will be critical for the Russian natural gas industry with the outcome largely depending on the nation’s pricing and institutional policies

Gazprom approved the deal to contribute additional capital in the amount of 75 million euro into the company South Stream Transport B.V.

Russia’s JSC Gazprom Neft has entered an agreement with Vietnam National Oil & Gas Group (PetroVietnam) to purchase a 49% interest in the 6.5 million-tonne/year Dung Quat refinery.

Will there be a “new deal” between natural gas marketers and producers? That was the question posed to a panel of experts, who grappled with topics such as the future of long-term contracts as well as what the price of gas will be, at the European Gas Conference in Vienna, Austria.

Preparing the ground for a much-discussed visit in Moscow (8-9 April), Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras reiterated his opposition to EU sanctions against Moscow, adding that debt-ridden country’s ambition is to upgrade its relations with Russia.

Further to its exclusive talks on possible cooperation, JSC Gazprom Neft and PetroVietnam have set October as a tentative deadline for prioritizing prospects and terms for their partnership at Dolginskoye field and the Severo-Zapadnyi (North West) blocks in Russia’s Pechora Sea.

The Russian government is requesting that state-owned gas giant Gazprom provide discounted gas to the struggling government in Ukraine.

Turkey and Greece are back under the spotlight as Russia’s Gazprom restated the importance of Turkish Stream for Greece’s energy security, while the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot leaders openly referred to the opportunity of resuming negotiations about the future of the Mediterranean island.

Before Donald Tusk became president of the European Council, the former Polish prime minister had already begun campaigning for a European energy union.

The Bulgarian government finds itself in a position where it needs to secure long-term reliable natural gas supplies, after two successive failures in the past few years to get involved in major infrastructure projects, namely the Nabucco and the South Stream pipelines.