Posted on 03/03/2014 7:10:03 AM PST by Lorianne
Russia has long used its vast energy supplies for political leverage, but its new conflict with Ukraine could show just how much that power has waned.
Twice before, Russia has shut off natural gas shipments through pipelines to Ukraine during fights over energy prices and past-due payments, but Ukraine’s crucial location between OAO Gazprom and its European customers gives it some leverage that may help prevent Moscow from leaving Ukrainians in the cold.
Ukraine and the European countries who have long relied on Russian gas to heat their homes and fuel power plants and manufacturing sites have also grown weary of Moscow calling the shots on energy supplies, and they’ve sought to diversify their energy sources.
Russia has “absolutely” lost its natural gas leverage because Ukraine can produce gas domestically, said Anders Åslund, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics who has been an adviser to both Russia and Ukraine, adding that both Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron have signed deals to develop gas fields there, though those supplies are not yet online.
Cutting off the gas supply also comes with risks for Russia.
When it last cut off Ukraine from supplies in 2009, 18 other countries further down the pipeline reported they suffered from supply disruptions as well, including Austria, Germany, Turkey, Greece and Italy.
But Europe, which relies on imports of oil and gas to supplement its own modest production, has seen the flow of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, surge in recent years from producers in Africa and the Middle East. It’s been helped in part by the shale gas bonanza in the United States, which took a major customer off the international market, leaving ample supplies for the continent.
Ping.
Thank you, oil men from Texas and Oklahoma, for saving not only our country by your expertise and by daring to risk your capital, but also helping nations far from our shores by making us self-sufficient.
Obama should be on his knees thanking them for providing some welcome relief to his abject failure during the Obama Depression the past five years. What has the caterwauling Left ever done for our country, except be a constant pain in the butt and a drain on our resources?
If you can believe Politico.
“Russia has “absolutely” lost its natural gas leverage because Ukraine can produce gas domestically, said Anders Åslund, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics who has been an adviser to both Russia and Ukraine, adding that both Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron have signed deals to develop gas fields there, though those supplies are not yet online.”
And Putin would pull a Hugo Chavez on those new gas fields as soon as they were finished. Who’s to stop him, the commie queer in the White House?
Now THAT is pithy.
You should use it on Ted Baxter.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.