Gazprom Approves $320m Financing for Turkish Natural Gas Pipeline

Gazprom has approved a three-and-a-half year loan to aid construction of the upcoming Turkish Stream (TurkStream) pipeline. The project was announced on December 2014 by Vladimir Putin on a state visit to Turkey. Turkey is regarded as a strategic bridge for energy between Central Asia and Europe. The pipeline will go from Russia's Krasnodar region, on the North Eastern edge of the Black Sea, to Turkish Thrace. Geographically, the Black sea has multiple countries on its edges, including Russia, Turkey and Ukraine, and Bulgaria, Romania and Georgia.

Gazprom latest to Axe Large Capital-Intensive Projects

First it was BHP Billiton's announcement that they were downsizing the Olympic Dam project. Now Gazprom is the latest firm to cut capital spending as it dumps it Shtokman gas field project in the Arctic due to excessive costs. Shtokman contains nearly four trillion cubic metres of gas making it one of the world's largest natural gas fields. The head of Gazprom's production, Mr Cherepanov, said the project was too expensive "for the time being". Total and Statoil were partners in the project (Gazprom had selected them as partners), with 25% and 24% stakes respectively. The oversupply from the US shale gas boom has changed the dynamics of gas exploration across the industry. Gazprom trades on a number of exchanges including the Moscow Exchange, LSE and Berlin and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges and is Russia's largest listed company. The news comes just as Shell has gained permission to drill for oil in the Arctic off the cost of Alaska.

GazProm saga continues...IMF extends loans...Rouble Devaluation Results

Gazprom accuses Ukraine of stealing gas.

In the supply dispute of 2006 there were similar claims.

25% of EU gas consumption (it is estimated) comes from Russia. 80% of the 25% comes from Ukraine, the rest through Belarus (landlocked country south of Lithuania) and Poland.

Belarus also landed a $2.5bn loan from the IMF following a sharp decline in its international reserves, sparked by falling demand for exports and lack of external financing (a direct result of the global financial turmoil). The Central Bank of Belarus allowed the Belarusian rouble to tumble thus increasing competitiveness of exports and stemming the decline in reserves, something the IMF insisted on as a precondition for the loan. Earlier the Russian government had agreed to grant Belarus a $2bn stabilization loan.