Brussels serves formal antitrust charges against Gazprom April 22, 2015 After days of ramping up the pressure, the European Commission (EC) has finally served formal antitrust charges against Russian oil giant Gazprom. The decision is the culmination of a four-year investigation into Gazprom's power over gas supplies to eastern European countries. The EC accused Gazprom of overcharging its customers illegally and pushing out its rivals. [...]
Cold war over Russian energy as EU increases pressure on Gazprom April 21, 2015 Tensions between the West and Russia are expected to heighten further today when European Union anti-trust officials ramp up proceedings against state-owned energy giant Gazprom The new EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager is likely to deliver a formal statement of objections to the Russian energy giant. An investigation into the firm’s pricing policies was [...]
Q and A: EU talk tough with Gazprom and Google April 21, 2015 Q This EU Commission anti-trust investigation into Gazprom has been going since September 2012, why is it only acting on it now? A Sanctions against Russia over Ukraine, and a new competition commissioner, have given the issue new political impetus. Q What is Gazprom accused of doing? A The EU investigation centres around the allegation [...]
Rothschild signals intent to acquire Asian mining firm April 20, 2015 NAT ROTHSCHILD is considering making a joint bid for distressed Indonesian coal miner Asia Resource Minerals (ARMS). NR Holdings, a trust controlled by the British financier, and Russia’s Siberian Coal Energy Company (SUEK) are tipped to join forces and make a cash offer for the firm. “NR Holdings and SUEK are considering a possible cash [...]
Ed Davey forces Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman to sell off North Sea gasfields April 20, 2015 Energy secretary Ed Davey has given the Russian tycoon Mikhail Fridman six months to sell off the North Sea gas fields. Davey notified Fridman’s LetterOne company of the decision yesterday, informing it that if the sale did not occur by the deadline he had set, the firm’s licenses in the North Sea would be revoked. [...]
Production flat but shares rise on Evraz tender April 20, 2015 RUSSIAN steelmaker Evraz, which counts Roman Abramovich as its majority shareholder, said production volumes remained flat in the first quarter yesterday. The company, which is chaired by the Chelsea FC owner, said consolidated crude steel output was stable at 3.9m tonnes with its mills at full capacity. The production of steel products, net of re-rolled [...]
UK pressures Russian tycoon Mikhail Fridman to sell North Sea oil fields April 20, 2015 Unfortunate news for Russian tycoon Mikhail Fridman: the government has threatened to revoke the licenses of a dozen North Sea gas fields belonging to his investment vehicle, L1 Energy, unless they're sold. The Department of Energy and Climate Change said LetterOne, the owner of subsidiary L1, must sell the oil and gas fields within three [...]
Eni chief exec Claudio Descalzi says Saudi Arabia has lost control of prices April 20, 2015 Eni's chief executive Claudio Descalzi has previously warned under-investment could lead oil prices to hit $200 per barrel – now he's back with another ominous forecast for the world's tumultuous oil market. Speaking to the Financial Times, Descalzi said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) was neither willing nor able to control oil prices. Since the 1980s Opec, [...]
Film review: Child 44 April 17, 2015 Cert 15 | ★☆☆☆☆ According to Child 44, post-war Soviet Russia is a place where the walls have ears and the woods have marauding killers addicted to the blood of children. Little rings true in this collage of Cold War nightmares, but nothing offends reality quite as much as the absurd Reeushyan icksshyents adopted by [...]
Don’t get suckered by the anti-Europeans: The EU is already being reformed April 16, 2015 As the election nears, policy promises are coming thick and fast: “the NHS, schools, the economy and jobs will be safe in our hands and ruined in theirs” – or words to that effect. Likewise, when it comes to Europe, the differences between parties appear stark. But they all make one point in different ways: [...]