Minister: Oil, Gas Firms Committed To Russia Despite Sanctions

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Russian and international majors are cooperating as usual despite sanctions imposed over Ukraine and Russia's South Stream pipeline project is going ahead, Energy Minister Alexander Novak says.

Reuters

MOSCOW, April 18 (Reuters) - Russian and international oil and gas majors are cooperating as usual despite sanctions imposed over Ukraine and Russia's South Stream gas pipeline project is going ahead, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday.

"There is no sense behind talk of the severing of relations... They express their desire to invest in Russia," Novak told reporters when asked if sanctions had hit energy cooperation.

The world's top crude oil producer and a leader in natural gas, Russia has signed deals with international majors on developing energy resources, mainly in the offshore Arctic region.

Top Russian oil firm Rosneft has signed agreements with ExxonMobil, Eni and Statoil and its biggest shareholder after the state is London-based BP .

BP boss Bob Dudley said this week that Western sanctions over Russia's actions in Ukraine had not impacted the company's business in Russia.

Ben van Beurden, the new boss of Royal Dutch Shell, which holds a stake in Russia's only liquefied natural gas producing plant, is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday in a sign of the company's commitment to its business in the country.


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J. Tobin  |  April 18, 2014
President Obama has been majorly out played by Putin in the Ukraine. Putin has no problem leveraging his Economic and Political position with energy resources. The major oil companies are showing no respect whatsoever for the United States as a result of the Obama administrations ineptitude. I dont think Obama could even figure out how to use energy as a leverage like Russia. After seeing how Putin has handled this I can only say I almost wish he was my President.


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