A leaked intelligence document issued by Spain’s CNI spy agency in October warns that Russia is aggressively pursuing a plan to “monopolize access to energy supplies to Europe.” The report validates what many analysts have been saying for a long time, namely that Moscow is using Russian energy companies to gain geo-strategic control over northern, [...]

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Russia, Iran and Qatar made the first serious moves Tuesday toward forming an OPEC-style cartel on natural gas, raising concerns that Moscow could boost its influence over energy markets spanning from Europe to South Asia.
Such an alliance would have little direct impact on the United States, which imports virtually no natural gas from Russia [...]

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Wonder why Russia has Europe over a barrel? Ask German environmentalists.
Two decades of stringent environmental regulations have made Germany, Europe’s largest economy, increasingly dependent on natural gas from Russia, the world’s largest exporter. Of course, economic leverage translates seamlessly into political power, and Russia’s sway over German foreign policy has been conspicuous as the recent [...]

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A US diplomat has denounced the controversial Baltic natural gas pipeline as “a special arrangement between Germany and Russia.” His remarks have ruffled feathers in Berlin and highlighted growing US-German tensions over relations with Russia. By Ralf Beste and Cordula Meyer more…

Fears over Stability of Georgian Pipeline: ‘Russia Should not Have a Stranglehold on Resources’

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by Larry EdelsonI’ll discuss the state of the markets shortly. First, I’d like to discuss the state of the world’s future.
According to a long-term study just released by the U.S. Naval Services Department, a series of tipping points could dramatically alter the global prospects for economic growth and humanity — for the worse.
Right now, for [...]

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A Russian-Venezuelan axis is a 21st-century throwback to the Cold war Soviet-Cuban alliance. Such a partnership bodes ill for energy security, for freedom in both nations, and for the Western Hemisphere.
Despite differences in culture, language, and geography, the rulers of Russia and Venezuela are increasingly rejecting civil society and narrowing political space in their respective [...]

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As China’s energy demands grow at a rate much faster than any other country in the world, so too have its relationships with the oil-producing nations in the Middle East. With half its oil imports from the region, China’s Middle East policy is on the verge of a “great leap forward.” Chinese strategy for securing [...]

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China faces its worst power shortage in at least four years as soaring coal prices and government-set electricity tariffs force dozens of small power plants to shut rather than face mounting losses.
Almost half of China’s provinces have started to ration electricity as the country enters the peak summer season, facing what analysts describe as its [...]

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Russia’s use of companies such as OAO Gazprom, the world’s largest natural gas producer, to buy energy assets in Africa may thwart U.S. efforts to limit the role of oil and gas as political weapons wielded from Moscow.

Getty Images Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (left) and Gazprom chief Alexei Miller visit the Sevmash shipyard in [...]

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Gazprom is a busy beaver these days. First Libya, then Iran. This probably falls under the strategic unhelpfulness category.
From the article:
A few days after French oil giant Total withdrew from its planned multi-billion dollar gas investment project in Iran, Russia’s Gazprom is entering the market in a multi-billion-dollar deal.
Gazprom’s Chief Executive Alexei Miller met on [...]

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This is example of Russian energy mercantilism. Russia locks up energy resources from other countries and takes it off the world market. Russia gains power at the expense of other countries.
From the article:
OAO Gazprom, Russia’s state- sponsored gas monopoly, is offering to buy all of Libya’s oil and gas exports in a bid to increase [...]

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A 2,000-mile pipeline envisioned as a way to lessen Western Europe’s dependence on Russian natural gas is being threatened by escalating costs, missed deadlines and uncertain supply.
The project, known as Nabucco, is behind schedule, with a start date expected to be pushed back from next year to 2010. Recent reports indicate that the cost of [...]

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China is facing a strategic decision in choosing its partners for energy trade. This sector is a key one for the fastest developing economy in the world. China’s energy consumption will grow considerably, while its own oil and gas sector is not developing fast enough to keep up with the growing needs. Russia is trying [...]

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At the height of the Cold War, the West feared the Soviet military. Now, it fears Russian energy companies, and the 800-pound gorilla of them all is Gazprom, Russia’s natural gas monopoly, currently the world’s third-largest company by capitalization.
Having absorbed capitalism with a rapacity that would make Lenin blush, Gazprom does not intend to rest [...]

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The rapid increase in oil prices and the rise in metal and mineral demand worldwide have made the Russians overconfident. Their annual cash income in the last four years has grown fourfold. The economic crunch of the 1990s is behind them. Thus the Russians have become somewhat politically belligerent, visible in the opposition they have [...]

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Asia’s troubles are about to get a great deal worse, because Asia is becoming a victim of the rise in energy prices in an even more spectacular way than higher gasoline prices.
Consider, for example, why it is that China’s steel exports to the United States are dropping at a rate of 20 percent this year. [...]

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Since the mid-1990s, leaders of the Caspian Sea littoral states — Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Iran — have repeatedly said that the sea should never become a point of contention between them or a reason for conflict in the international community.
But as energy prices skyrocket, the Caspian Sea Basin — home to some [...]

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Asia in general, and China in particular: The pressure in Asia is starting to show, beginning with South Korea. But anecdotal reports out of China also show the ratcheting of pressure. We have reports of plant closures due partly to informal taxes for earthquake relief imposed by the government and partly to the business environment. [...]

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Skyrocketing Oil Prices Threaten Prosperity
With oil prices breaking all records, the next shock for consumers is already at hand with electricity and natural gas prices set to skyrocket. While experts fear for the economy, the crisis is driving a wedge between the partners in Germany’s coalition government. By SPIEGEL Staff more…

Black Gold under the Ice: [...]

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Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko on Friday urged fellow leaders to diversify eastern Europe’s energy supply routes away from Russia and not succumb to ‘energy blackmail.’
Speaking to six other heads of state at an energy summit in Kiev, Yushchenko said his country could play a greater role as a supply route from energy-rich Caspian Sea states [...]

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The world’s premier energy monitor is preparing a sharp downward revision of its oil-supply forecast, a shift that reflects deepening pessimism over whether oil companies can keep abreast of booming demand.
The Paris-based International Energy Agency is in the middle of its first attempt to comprehensively assess the condition of the world’s top 400 oil fields. [...]

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