Gunvor to reduce footprint in Russia

Russia seeks an acceleration of its business ties with China. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev suggested on Monday that the two countries could soon reach an agreement on a second pipeline.

Russian oil giant OAO Rosneft is devising a legal strategy to fight Western sanctions in European courts, according to people familiar with the strategy—a tactic modeled on the so-far successful legal campaign waged by Iran’s Bank Mellat.

With the rouble down 18 percent against the dollar this year and sanctions chipping away at economic ties with the West, ordinary Russians might be forgiven for rushing to put their money in a nice, "safe" foreign currency.

Morgan Stanley ’s deal to sell an oil trading business to Rosneft , the state-owned Russian oil group, is close to collapse amid the profound chill in relations between Russia and the US.

Russia's top oil producer Rosneft has turned to UK-certified lawyers in its fight against Ukraine-related Western sanctions which have hit the company's output and prospects for its push to tap Arctic riches.

Gazprom has said it could shelve its Vladivostok liquefied natural gas project as the Russian state-controlled energy giant focuses on supplying more gas to China by pipeline.

French banking giant BNP Paribas SA has stopped offering letters of credit to finance commodities trades involving sanctioned Russian banks, according to people familiar with the matter—the latest fallout from tightening economic restrictions imposed by the West against Moscow.

Sanctions against the Russian Federation, more specifically in its energy section, seem to have been gradually nullified due to a counteraction by Moscow, which as of late made significant progress on several long-standing issues that have long-term effects on the global natural gas sector.

Oil prices that have plunged to a 27-month low are inflicting damage on a Russian economy already contending with escalating sanctions from the U.S. and European Union over its role in Ukraine.