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Poland and Norway opened a new gas pipeline via Denmark on Tuesday, hailed as a much-needed alternative to Russian-controlled routes. At a ceremony in Poland, Norway’s Energy Minister Terje Aasland said the opening of Baltic Pipe was “a milestone on the important path towards European independence”... Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said it “marks a crucial geopolitical step for all of us.” “Putin uses Russian energy as a weapon to destabilise Europe, to divide us. He cannot be allowed to succeed,” Ms Frederiksen said, referring to the Russian president. Poland, one of the fiercest advocates in Europe of isolating Moscow,...

Russian natural gas exports to Europe have dropped by more than 82% in one year, according to Spain's Energy Transition Minister Teresa Ribera. "In just a year, the flow of gas from Russia fell by more than 82%. In fact, in January 2021, supplies from Russia accounted for about 40% of the gas consumed in Europe. At the moment, this figure does not reach 10%."

In September, Indian refiners are not expected to buy any ESPO crude from Russia because of the higher shipping rates. African and Middle East crude becomes more attractive as shipping rates on long voyages have jumped... However, with a recent surge in freight rates, Russian oil doesn't look so cheap. Moreover, the travel time from Russia's Far East, where the ESPO grade is loading for exports, is a month to India, compared to a week necessary for a Middle Eastern cargo to reach India... "On net back basis after factoring in the freight, the landed cost of ESPO is turning...

Moscow’s already-eroding influence in Central Asia is set to decline even more rapidly. Vladimir Putin’s stature shrank in Samarkand. At the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan last week, Russia’s beleaguered leader essentially apologized to his Chinese counterpart, faced verbal reprimands from India’s Prime Minister, and waited uncomfortably for the Kyrgyz President to arrive late to a bilateral meeting. The SCO summit provided visual, real-time evidence of Russia’s diminished standing in Central Asia, which has faded due to the Kremlin’s foolish and poorly executed invasion of Ukraine. While Moscow’s already-eroding influence in Central Asia is set to decline even...

Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war after a prisoner exchange was brokered by Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Among them were fighters from the Azovstal plant. Ukraine announced the release of 215 imprisoned soldiers and 10 foreigners from Russia on Thursday. The soliders were released in exchange for 55 Russian prisoners, as well as Victor Medvedchuck, leader of the banned pro-Russia political party in Ukraine. Among the released were fighters who led the defense of Mariupol's Azovstal's steelworks, an act that has been hailed as an icon of Ukrainian resistance... Victor Medvedchuck, who has been said to be...

What’s next? Basically, the war is lost. If you look at all of the objectives that Putin set for the war, all of them have failed. All of them. So, continuing the war is the only way for Putin to stay in power. He wants to create extra chaos in the free world hoping that a new window will open for him. It’s really just a protracted agony. It is cynical and stupid, but Putin is willing to put thousands of civilians into graves in the months to come before the whole of Ukraine is liberated, if that will allow...

Municipal deputies for the Smolninskoye District in St. Petersburg plan to submit a petition to the State Duma (the Russian parliament) to charge Russian president Vladimir Putin with high treason for unleashing the war in Ukraine. Deputy Dmitry Palyuga announced the intention on Twitter. According to Palyuga, “the majority of deputies in attendance supported the decision.” In conversation with The Insider, he specified that seven out of ten voted in favor of the initiative. According to its sponsors, Putin’s actions since the beginning of the “special military operation” fall under Article 93 of the Russian Constitution, which stipulates for the...

Europe is currently importing over one million barrels per day of Russian oil, attempting to fill up before the EU-wide embargo on Russian crude imports comes into effect (5 December). Oil prices have fallen as demand concerns grow and China struggles with Covid lockdowns, and Europe is attempting to take advantage of those lower prices to stock up on oil. Alternative sources of crude oil are abundant for Europe

Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen warlord who is one of the biggest supporters of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, has said that he wants to quit. In a video on his Telegram channel, Mr Kadyrov said that he had been president of Chechnya in Russia’s North Caucasus for 15 years and didn’t want to “outstay” his welcome... He was promoted as Chechnya’s leader by Mr Putin in 2007 and has been a vocal supporter of the Russian president ever since, backing the initial invasion of Ukraine in February with his fighters. Mr Kadyrov’s father, Akhmat, had fought Russian forces in the...

Russia said Tuesday that it would not resume natural gas flow to the European Union until sanctions are lifted, all but acknowledging that it is intentionally inflicting an energy crisis on Europe as a means of countering Western economic punishment for its invasion of Ukraine... “It is important to recall that there is not just one gas pipeline from Russia to Europe,” European Commission energy spokesman Tim McPhie said Monday. “If there was a technical problem which was impeding supplies via Nord Stream 1, there would be a possibility, if there was willingness, to deliver gas to Europe through other...

France’s state-held utility giant EDF will restart all its nuclear reactors in the country this winter, potentially alleviating the energy crisis in Europe during peak heating season. Currently, more than half of EDF’s reactors are out of operation either because of maintenance or technical issues. “EDF has committed to restart all its reactors for this winter,” French Energy Transition Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher said at a news conference on energy security on Friday. EDF operates a total of 56 reactors in France, but 32 of them are currently either undergoing maintenance or experiencing technical issues, the minister added. Every week starting...

Investments in new liquified natural gas (LNG) infrastructure are set to surge, reaching $42 billion annually in 2024, Rystad Energy research shows. These greenfield investments are 20 times the amount in 2020 when just $2 billion was invested... Russian volumes are primarily dependent on the successful completion of the Novatek-operated Arctic LNG 2 project, which is potentially in jeopardy as sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine conflict have led to delays in the commissioning of Train 2 and Train 3. Project partners TotalEnergies and JOGMEC have halted all financing related to the scheme in the Russia-Ukraine war, followed by the...

India shipped in 877,400 barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Russia in July, a drop of around 7.3 percent from June, while India’s oil imports from Saudi Arabia increased to 824,700 bpd in the month, a rise of 25.6 percent from June. This was the highest oil take by India from Saudi Arabia for three months, according to industry data, and the figures also marked the first fall in India’s crude oil imports from Russia since March.

U.S. natural gas prices take a sharp turn lower after Freeport LNG said on Tuesday it now expects to restart its shuttered export plant in early to mid-November, and ramp up to a sustained level of at least 2B cf/day by the end of November, delaying the timeline from a previous estimate of October. Freeport LNG's newest recovery plan will utilize the company's second loading dock as a lay berth until loading capabilities at the second dock are reinstated in March 2023, when it anticipates being capable of operating at 100% of capacity. Nymex front-month natural gas futures (NG1:COM) for...

Natural gas demand in major consuming countries stood in June at 104 percent of year-ago levels, but production was flat compared to 2021 levels, new data from the Joint Organisations Data Initiative (JODI) showed on Wednesday. While U.S. natural gas production has been rising in recent months alongside LNG exports, Russian gas production has plummeted since Russia invaded Ukraine at the end of February. In June, Russian gas production plummeted 18 percent month on month, falling for three consecutive months. Russia’s gas output in June was at 70 percent of March levels, according to data from JODI, which compiles self-reported...

A former member of Russia’s Duma who was expelled for anti-Kremlin activities has claimed that Russian partisans were allegedly behind a car bomb which blew up the daughter of one of Vladimir Putin’s close political allies on the outskirts of Moscow (Darya Dugina, daughter of Alexander Dugin). Speaking in Kyiv, where he is based, Ilya Ponomarev alleged the explosion on Saturday evening was the work of the National Republican Army, which he claimed was an underground group working inside Russia and dedicated to overthrowing the Putin regime... Ponomarev said partisans inside Russia were ready to conduct further similar attacks against...

Claims made by Russian President Vladimir Putin that the United States is intentionally prolonging the Russia-Ukraine conflict may not be as implausible... Sean Spoonts, a U.S. Navy veteran and editor-in-chief of Special Operations Forces Report (SOFREP), told Newsweek that President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky seem to have separate policy goals in mind. "It seems like while Ukraine would like to end the war quickly and decisively defeat Russian forces and drive them out of their country, U.S. policy almost seems designed to prolong the conflict hoping to bring about the collapse of Russia itself, both militarily and...

Now there's a growing sense that Europe might not only meet its gas targets but also exceed them... Injections to Europe’s gas storage are running about nine weeks ahead of last year... European gas storage levels are above 70%, and have even surpassed the 5-year average. By November 1st, the EU will likely hit 80% natural gas storage capacity (its goal) – in time for peak winter demand. Germany is even aiming for 95% capacity, and is already at 75%... Indeed, analysts at Standard Chartered Plc are saying that President Vladimir Putin’s gas weapon will be effectively blunted by the...

Three months after Russia’s brutal months-long siege of Mariupol came to an end, life hangs by a thread for those who stayed behind. Russian airstrikes and artillery pounded Mariupol, reducing what was once a vibrant port city into a landscape of rubble. More than 20,000 people are believed to have been killed in Russia’s siege but the real number could be much higher, according to the Mariupol City Council. There are mass graves with unidentified bodies outside of the city. Though incessant shelling ceased after the last Ukrainian stronghold in Mariupol fell to Russia in mid-May, those who survived the...

French President Emmanuel Macron signed protocols on NATO accession for Finland and Sweden on Saturday, AFP reported with reference to the Elysee Palace. "This sovereign choice by Finland and Sweden will strengthen their security in the face of the existing threat in their immediate vicinity and will make a significant contribution to the collective position and our European security," the press service of the French leader's administration was quoted as saying. On August 3, the National Assembly (lower house of parliament) of France ratified the protocol on the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO. The accession of Finland and...