OAO Gazprom, the biggest natural gas producer, will probably see lower gains in Europe for at least four years as weaker oil prices and rising competition threaten to further cut its profits, a government forecast showed.

Greece's energy minister has discussed in Moscow the construction of a pipeline that will transport Russian gas to Europe through its territory, the Greek energy ministry said on Saturday.

The US and EU sanctions are primarily targeted at the country's oil industry, for very obvious reasons. Russia provides about 30% of Europe's gas, so it's simply not in the EU's interests to compromise Gazprom's ability to produce and export gas.

The European Union is forging, albeit with considerable debate and obstacles due to the national strategies of its member states, a long-term Energy Union that has natural gas as its basic component. EU energy diversification tools, which include LNG, see LNG steadily emerging as a basic method to achieve its Energy Union goals.

Discoveries of natural gas offshore Israel signalled the eastern Mediterranean as a new frontier for the development of natural gas resources. The gas discoveries provide a unique opportunity for Israel to change its mentality vis-à-vis neighbouring countries and view the resources as a tool for strengthening regional cooperation and solidarity through energy diplomacy. While security concerns in Israel remain paramount, diplomacy in the context of the eastern Mediterranean transcends traditional foreign and security policy considerations, and attempts to use economic and commercial means to interlink the countries of the region through energy relations.

To help Gazprom reach Central European markets, Russia has advocated the construction of a pipeline that would run from Greece to Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary

Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia will sign an agreement to interconnect their natural gas networks whih to allow also the reverse transit, announced on Thursday night the Hungarian minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto on the Hungarian public television station M1, MTI reports, according to Mediafax.

Prices have also risen with internationally traded Brent recovering from a six-year low near $45 a barrel in January to $64.90 on Wednesday.

Europe’s oil capital is a victim of the sharp drop in oil prices since last year

Naftogaz's role is the creation of an efficient gas market in Ukraine.