Russia will increase covert Baltic interference

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Liquefied Natural Gas ◽  
Lightning Strike ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Military Exercise

Significance In line with such concerns, Estonia held a large military exercise, Hedgehog, on May 4-15, involving 13,000 troops. On May 6, Lithuania launched Lightning Strike, a military exercise involving 3,000 troops in a simulated defence of the country's new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at Klaipeda. In December, Latvia said Russian submarines had approached its maritime borders more than 50 times in the past year. However, Russia's more overt activities also pose a major risk to the Baltics. Impacts Russian intelligence will continue to target not just Baltic secrets but, through them, NATO and EU ones. Russian operations will aim to create division by playing on discontent within sizeable ethnic Russian minorities who feel marginalised. NATO will increase the rate and size of Baltic drills to reassure the Baltic states.

Russia's Asian gas pivot will progress slowly

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Liquefied Natural Gas ◽  
East Siberia ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Oil Pipeline ◽  
Price Discounts ◽  
The Past ◽  
Vladimir Putin

Subject Outlook for Russia-Asia gas ties. Significance Last year, Russia's President Vladimir Putin signed a 30 year deal worth 400 billion dollars to sell 38 billion cubic metres (bcm) yearly of natural gas to China, starting in 2018-19. Gazprom will have to build the 4,000 kilometres 'Power of Siberia' pipeline. The deal is the cornerstone of Russia's pivot towards Asia. Other elements include the East Siberia Pacific Oil Pipeline, the liberalisation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports and the planned second pipeline to China via the Altai Western route. However, the past year's events are frustrating Moscow's ambitions. Whether Russia succeeds or not bears implications for the global gas industry. Impacts By 2035, over 30% of Russia's gas exports will go to Asia. Liquefaction technologies are not on the sanctions list, but they might be if sanctions were widened. To seal the Altai deal, Russia will have to grant price discounts to make the offer too good to refuse.

scholarly journals Liquefied Natural Gas Infrastructure and Prospects for the Use of LNG in the Baltic States and Finland

2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-63
Author(s):  
J. Savickis ◽  
L. Zemite ◽  
L. Jansons ◽  
N. Zeltins ◽  
I. Bode ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Liquefied Natural Gas ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
Natural Gas Markets ◽  
Contract Duration ◽  
Time To Build ◽  
Demand Fluctuations ◽  
Gas Markets ◽  
The Baltic

Abstract In the early 2010s, only 23 countries had access to the liquefied natural gas (hereinafter – LNG). Import terminals, despite attractive short-term economics, took long time to build, and rigid supply contracts made truly global use of LNG rather complicated. Concerns about geo-political risks also stunted demand growth from existing supply sources, even when new LNG export routes and sources became available. Current natural gas market is very different, both in terms of market participants and accessibility and diversity of services. In 2019, the number of LNG importing countries reached 43. Rising competition among suppliers and increasing liquidity of markets themselves created favourable conditions to diversify contract duration, size, and flexibility. In addition, development of floating storage and regasification unit (hereinafter – FSRU) technology provided LNG suppliers with a quick response option to sudden demand fluctuations in regional and local natural gas markets [1]. Moreover, LNG is one of the major options not only for bringing the natural gas to regions where its pipeline supply infrastructure is historically absent, limited or underdeveloped, but also for diversification of the natural gas supply routes and sources in regions with sufficient state of pipeline delivery possibilities. And it concerns smaller natural gas markets, like the Baltic States and Finland as well. Accordingly, prospects for use of LNG there in both mid and long-term perspective must be carefully evaluated, especially in regards to emerging bunkering business in the Baltic Sea aquatory and energy transition in Finland, replacing coal base-load generation with other, more sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives.

Tanzania faces low-level Islamist militant threat

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Liquefied Natural Gas ◽  
Energy Industry ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Low Level ◽  
The Past ◽  
Threat Level ◽  
Oil And Gas Operations

Subject Assessing the threat from militant Islamist agendas. Significance Low-scale attacks attributed locally as militant Islamist activity have been increasing over the past two years, and have spiked in the past four months with incidents in Tanga and Morogoro. They suggest that the level of organisation amongst domestic militant Islamist groups may be growing. Impacts Potential plans for the liquefied natural gas plant in Lindi Region may focus a militant threat against the energy industry. Onshore oil and gas operations, as well as government facilities, could also be potential targets. As the top export earner, tourism would be affected by any heightened threat level leading to travel advisories.

Gas prices expose Europe’s energy vulnerability

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Central Banks ◽  
Liquefied Natural Gas ◽  
Electricity Price ◽  
Energy Prices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Indigenous Production ◽  
Europe Today ◽  
The Cost

Significance The cost of gas-fired generation sets the electricity price in much of Europe today. Falling indigenous production has left Europe reliant on gas imports and exposed it to global liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices set by fast-recovering China. This has left retail-only electricity suppliers vulnerable and increases the risk that falling disposable incomes will undermine post-pandemic recovery. Impacts EU carbon allowance prices will stay strong. Higher energy prices will stoke inflation amid a fragile recovery, posing a dilemma for central banks. Rising gas prices have had ancillary but potentially alarming impacts as some fertiliser and CO2 producers have shut in production.

Algeria-Morocco pipeline closure could add to tensions

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Liquefied Natural Gas ◽  
East Mediterranean ◽  
Content Type

Significance The pipeline transit agreement is set to expire at the end of October. It comes as tensions between Morocco and Algeria have escalated, with the latter cutting diplomatic ties with Rabat and closing its airspace to Moroccan airplanes. Impacts Algeria will argue that trans-Morocco gas can be replaced with extra volumes via the Medgaz line and with liquefied natural gas. The supply implications mainly affect Spain and Morocco, and will have little relevance for other European gas projects. In the East Mediterranean, the costs of a pipeline to Europe remain prohibitively high.

New Tanzanian government’s focus may shift

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Rare Earths ◽  
Liquefied Natural Gas ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Development Agenda

Significance Magufuli and the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) have entered 2021 on a high, having swept the October 31 elections and essentially removed all vestiges of opposition to their power. They now need to deliver on their ambitious development agenda. Impacts Crackdowns against the opposition, civil society and other critics will intensify. Persistent bottlenecks in government suggest progress towards a flagship USD30bn liquefied natural gas project may remain slow. Reports that Tanzania is close to finalising a deal for its first ever rare earths mine could give Magufuli’s agenda an early boost.

Reinforcement of the NATO Eastern Flank

2020 ◽  
pp. 153-179
Author(s):  
Przemysław Furgacz
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
Military Equipment ◽  
Eastern Flank ◽  
The Past ◽  
Security Environment ◽  
Military Presence ◽  
Hybrid War ◽  
The Baltic

After the landmark annexation of Crimea and eruption of hybrid war in the Donbas, some states that in the past used to be under Soviet domination began to ask their stronger NATO allies for increased military presence in the Alliance Eastern flank. The worsening security environment in the Eastern Europe, the fear against potential swift Russian incursion, the relative weakness of Eastern European armies, the significant strategic exposure of the Baltic states, these factors influenced the Alliance's decision to augment NATO military presence in the states bordering Russia. Actions like deployment of additional battalions, prepositioning of heavy military equipment, intensified joint multinational military drills are intended to reassure the most vulnerable NATO member states and to deter Moscow from taking too audacious and too assaultive measures. The author shortly describes the actions NATO has made since 2014 in order to strengthen its military presence in the Eastern flank with particular emphasis on U.S.-enhanced forward presence in the region.

Freight Transport Restructuring in the Baltic States

2003 ◽  
Vol 1820 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauri Ojala ◽  
Cesar Queiroz
Keyword(s):  
Freight Transport ◽  
Positive Development ◽  
Transport Sector ◽  
Border Crossings ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
Persistent Problem ◽  
The Past ◽  
Freight Forwarding ◽  
General Transport ◽  
The Baltic

A brief outline of the restructuring of the freight transport sector in the three Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) is provided that focuses on the provision of logistics and freight-forwarding services in international transport and trade. The three countries have made significant progress in all areas of the transport sector in the past 10 years. During this period the private sector has taken over a large part of the transport sector. Despite the very positive development, continued efforts are needed to improve the transport sector further. Issues pertaining to national legislation are recognized to be of high priority in all three countries, but cooperation in customs issues between countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States is problematic. Also delays in border crossings, especially to and from Russia and Belarus, appear to be a common and persistent problem in the Baltic States. The general transport-supporting services and the performance of customs have improved substantially during the past decade. Entry of foreign operators, especially in international road-based transport and logistics services, has restructured the logistics market profoundly. It can be argued that the efficiency of the industry and the overall quality of services have improved substantially.

Mozambique juggles new interests and old problems

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Liquefied Natural Gas ◽  
Traditional Agriculture ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Electoral Support ◽  
Debt Stress ◽  
Fiscal Risks

Subject Mozambique's new government. Significance President Filipe Nyusi on January 17 unveiled his first cabinet. The line-up marks a break with the administration of former President Armando Guebuza, but balances competing factions within the ruling FRELIMO party. The new government's main focus will be to turn offshore natural gas discoveries into liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. Declines in FRELIMO's electoral support indicate pressure to demonstrate more inclusive benefits than has been the case with previous mega-projects. Impacts Lower prices for traditional (agriculture) and megaproject exports (coal, aluminium) will continue; last year exports fell by 8.4%. With mining under stress, companies may delay production expansion planned to take place after the completion of the Nacala railway. For the short term, fiscal risks are greater than debt stress -- particular given 2014 election-related spending.

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