Russia: a full pipe

Süddeutsche Zeitung. Translated by the European bureau of Vetnik Kavkaza

Gazprom is striving for the West. Therefore, President Putin provides himself with even greater influence. The Russian gas concern beats the EU in the pipeline race and supplies gas to German consumers directly.

Alexei Miller is not a man of many words. A squat man with quite voice rarely speaks at the public. But when the main manager of Russia starts speaking, his statements are as direct as a gas pipe. Last Wednesday Miller stated in Moscow that Gazprom improves its influence in Germany and starts to deal directly with end consumer. Few hours later Miller arrived to Milan and met his partners from BASF and the Italian company Eni to launch the multibillion project of “South Stream”

At the moment it is high time to show Moscow power. It is almost a unique case when the Russian concern strictly showed borders of influence to the West. Gazprom has never demonstrated so obviously that, despite Brussels’ resistance, it plans to dominate at the European energy market, extending political and economic influence in Moscow and Western Europe. The strategy of the head of the state Vladimir Putin is simple: he wants to control the whole process from energy exploration to its selling. That is why he turns Rosneft into the major oil producer in the worls, while Russian gas will be transported through pipes of the Russian state companies.

During the meeting between heads of Gazprom, BASF, and Eni details of financing were discussed.  Construction of the 17-billion-euro project is planned for early December. Russian President Putin wants to take part in the opening ceremony of building the pipeline in the south of the country. The project will shaken the whole energy market of Europe: the EU used to count for its own project Nabucco.

However, the last act of this energy drama seems to end with a failure of Brussels. According to Süddeutsche Zeitungm one of the main participants of Nabucco – the German concern RWE – considers an opportunity to leave the project. The decision will be made by the end of 2012. According to the source, RWE thinks Nabucco is not a profitable project and doubts in possibility of its financing. Moreover, the important countries-providers haven’t agreed to take part in it yet.

Western Europe hoped that Nabucco will connect two continents from Azerbaijan to Vienna – a gas connection between six countries 4000 km long. Nabucco was thought to be one of the most important infrastructural projects of the European Union. It was called for decreasing dependence from Moscow Gazprom and Putin. Gas was required to be supplied from Central Asia by-passing Russia. The project was promoted by Gunter Ettinger and Angela Merkel.

Leading European energy policies warn about improvement of Gazprom’s influence in the context of South Stream’s launching. In North Europe the Russian concern wants to extend Nord Stream on the bottom of the Baltic Sea, and if Miller manages to achieve his purposes in Central Asia, partnership will be replaced by dependence. Can Gazprom get a grip of the whole continent?

However, Miller doesn’t think he has gained his target. According to Süddeutsche Zeitung’s information, in late November he visited Munich and met the prime minister of Bayern Horst Seehofer for monitoring of opportunities of constructing gas power stations in south Germany. Should a new deal be expected in the nearest future? At the same time economic expansion of Russians doesn’t restricted by gas only. The state oil concern Rosneft plans to open its own bank.