The Suez Canal and the SUMED Pipeline are strategic routes for Persian Gulf crude oil, petroleum products, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments to Europe and North America.

Gazprom's 10-year transit deal with Ukraine's Naftogaz expires on December 31 this year, with some in the European gas market becoming increasingly concerned that there could be disruption to Russian gas flows via Ukraine as a result.

Nord Stream 2, a 760-mile (1,225-km) pipeline project to ship gas from Russia under the Baltic Sea to Germany, would double the capacity of the existing Nord Stream pipeline and has divided the European Union.

Russia removes contaminated oil from an export pipeline Druzhba

Operators of Belarus, Ukrainian, Hungarian and Slovakian sections of troubled Druzhba network have agreed on technical measures to clean contaminated oil from part of the system and expect normal quality oil from Russia to start entering Belarus and Urkaine in the coming days, Ukrainian pipeline operator Ukrtransnafta said Tuesday.

The EU has long worked to diversify from relying on Russia for almost 40 percent of its gas needs by developing LNG infrastructure to access other suppliers. Qatar and Australia are other major LNG suppliers.

The meeting participants stressed the success of the operating Nord Stream gas pipeline and the great importance of the under-construction Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline for the energy security of Europe and Germany in particular.

The rules governing the EU's internal gas market will in future also apply to pipelines to and from third countries. The Council today formally adopted an amendment to the so-called gas directive which aims at closing a legal gap in the EU's regulatory framework and boosting competition in the gas market. This is the final step in the legislative process.

REUTERS - A consortium led by French utility Engie has won a bid for Petrobras’ TAG pipeline arm with an $8.6 billion offer, in a deal that boosts Engie’s presence in a fast-growing sector and will help Petrobras cut its debts.

The Power of Siberia natural gas pipeline from Russia to China is on track and gas supply is expected to commence by December this year, a senior executive at state-run PetroChina, China's biggest gas importer and producer, said