I do not know. My guess is that they stole the property of Royal Dutch Shell. Nationalization is theft of private property. I am surprised that private investors are in the global energy business with rampant nationalization. There must be some money to be made before nationalization.
Cartels (OPEC, Russia, Venezuela) are trying to control energy supplies. I am surprised that energy supplies do not fall under trade agreements. Perhaps it is just a waste of time to use trade agreements to stop energy cartels.
The idiots that talk about “blood for oil” should focus their attention on the energy cartels. The cartels are trying to extort the consuming world. We are not part of any energy cartel. We just want a fair market for energy supplies.
100% correct sir. I'm impressed. That's how the real game is played in real time by real players. Your "free markets" are a hallucination compared to how the Russians and Chinese play the oil/energy game. Thugs know how to play this game and laugh themselves to sleep each night at those who depend on free markets for energy
What happened is that for years Shell did the hard work and tech while the Russians swilled vodka. Once Sakhalin panned out the Russians forced Royal Dutch Shell to lower its participation from 55% to 27%. Gazprom (Putin's mafia friends) grabbed what Shell was forced to surrender
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/02/05/8399125/index.htm The news was stunning, even if rumors had been flying: Shell (Charts) was halving its ownership in the $22 billion project, cutting its stake from 55% to 27.5%,
With all due respect that is a pathetic plea undergirded by a child like faith in free markets backed up by rule of law. These markets exist here in USA but not in the world wide energy markets
Russia doesn't play your "free market" game. Nor does China Venezuela or Iran. Powerful thug-ocracies move the market. Not free consumers and free suppliers of energy in the fair market you yearn for