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| Putin Trying To Organize And Dominate A Natural Gas Cartel Like OPEC |
| 2007-04-10 |
| Top officials in Europe and America are watching nervously to see whether Russia succeeds in forging an Opec-style "gas cartel" at gathering of the world's leading gas exporters in Qatar today. The once-sleepy Gas Exporting Countries Forum has become the stage for a dramatic bid by Russian President Vladimir Putin to dominate the global energy agenda. The EU energy commissioner, Andris Piebalgs, warned that Europe will retaliate against any attempt to rig the market or hold European consumers to ransom. "Gas could be replaced. If gas is not traded in open markets, I would advise all member states and I will do everything I can to make more investment in nuclear power," he said. In Washington, the top Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, described the proposed cartel as a "global extortion racket". Qatar's foreign minister, Mohammed al-Roumaihi, left no doubt that the proposal was a Kremlin scheme. "The idea of a gas Opec is above all political. It was suggested by President Putin, whose country has specific strategic objectives," he said. Russia's energy minister, Victor Khristenko, insisted the world had nothing to fear from moves to streamline rules in the gas market. "I know this is causing a lot of tension, sometimes exaggerated, sometimes wild. Are we going to sign up to a gas price policy? Of course not," he said. Leonid Grigoriev, president of Russia's Energy Institute, said Mr Putin was stoking fears as part of bargaining strategy in gas export deals. "These references to a cartel are made deliberately. They are expected to frighten the West, and they do," he said. It is unclear how a gas cartel would function given that most contracts are taken out on very long delivery schedules of 15 years or more, unlike the liquid spot market for crude. Algeria, Iran and Venezuela all appear to back Mr Putin's ideas for a "gas Opec", but the scheme would lack bite without the full support of pro-Western Qatar. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #5 More reason to create a cartel with Brazil and South Africa to move the third world's energy to sugar-based ethonal and pebble-bed nuke reactors. Time to think outside of past alliances and get the hell away from oil and natural gas. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2007-04-10 11:23 |
| #4 OTOH, WORLDNEWS > IRAN SITS ON WORLD'S LARGEST OIL RESERVES [untapped]. Also, C2CAM Pert > World is already at "Peak/Easy Oil" levels - tis downhill from now on, i.e. after Year 2010, unless effective alternative power systems on a mass scale can be developed. PRISONPLANET.com > Brit MOD STudy > BIOWEAPONS in the future may be used for deadly, wilful POPULATION CONTROL. Future world is likely to be SECTARIAN, ANARCHISTIC, and DARWINIST, i.e. strongest will survive the pervasive chaos and disorder. MARXISM-COMMUNISM reborn as method of effective, DESPERATE IDEO OF CONTROL. BTW, OOOOOOPPPSIES, "ETHNIC CLEANSING" WORKS??? and may actually PROLIFERATE??? ANd then theres GUARDIAN.UK > RENSE.com > STOP SHOPPING OR EARTH WILL GO POP. D *** ng it, HUMAN CONSUMERISM [West] IS A MAJOR FACTOR IN GLOBAL WARMING + DEGRADATION OF GLOBAL ENVIRON vv WASTES. and ITS DOUBTFUL CAPITALISM IS STRONG/TUFF ENUFF TO STOP WASTEFUL CONSUMERISM. SSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, its TOTALITARIANISM, COMMUNISM, GOVERNEMTISM, etal. OR THE EARTH = HUMANITY WASTES ITS WAY UNTO DEATH + EXTINCTION. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-04-10 02:02 |
| #3 If Putin wants to shut off Europe's gas pipes, there's nothing the Euros can do about it. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2007-04-10 01:05 |
| #2 Pootie haz GAS |
| Posted by: RD 2007-04-10 01:02 |
| #1 It is unclear how a gas cartel would function given that most contracts are taken out on very long delivery schedules of 15 years or more Duh, they'll just pull another Lukos and liquidate the firm along with the contracts....Russian bankruptcy. Just try not to be the next Khodorkovsky. Lesson learned: don't try to apply Western business standards where they don't belong. |
| Posted by: Woozle Sleting4625 2007-04-10 00:13 |