Geopolitics Decanted by Silverado

How Russia Engineered the Perfect Gas Crisis

Episode Summary

Dmitri Alperovitch talks with energy markets and russian oil and gas sector expert Sergey Vakulenko (formerly with Gazprom Neft, Royal Dutch Shell and IHS Markit) about how Russia is engineering an energy crisis in Europe, with spillover effects all over the world.

Episode Notes

Dmitri Alperovitch talks with  energy markets and russian oil and gas sector expert Sergey Vakulenko (formerly with Gazprom Neft, Royal Dutch Shell and IHS Markit) about how Russia is engineering an energy crisis in Europe, with spillover effects all over the world.

Topics covered:

• When it comes to gas, who needs whom more: Russia or Europe?
• What are Europe's options to survive the winter without Russian gas? Which countries will be most affected?
• What game is Russia playing by cutting Nord Stream 1  flows?
• Why are Poland, Finland and Bulgaria  cutoff from direct purchases of Russian gas while others like Germany are still buying?
• How long would it take to build a pipeline from the Russian gas fields in the West to China to remove dependence on European customers?
• Can Russia continue to operate and maintain old wells and drill new ones without Western servicing firms?
• What is the impact of Russian gas cutoffs on fertilizer production and global food supplies?
• How much is it hurting Russia to sell oil at substantial discount to China and India?

Follow the speakers on Twitter @DAlperovitch, @SergeyVakulenk0