Analytics // Energy policy

The common historical and cultural past of the two countries and the economic difficulties they both faced after the collapse of the Soviet Union have pushed them to stay close.

Since the collapse of the USSR the relationship between Russia and the European Union (EU) has evolved in various phases mainly based on global securities issues, economic trade and energetic questions.

‘Blood Oil’ has been a term widely used in Nigeria to describe the chaos surrounding the current situation of the oil industry. Angry that profits from oil are not deposited locally, militant gangs are taking it upon themselves to disrupt trade using whatever force they feel necessary.

The US electorate may not realize it, but oil will play a central factor in the US Presidential Election, a fact of which candidates Obama and McCain are only too aware. People have many reasons for voting the way they do.

British-American company British Petroleum (BP), Access/Renova (AAP) and "Alpha - Group" have declared February 11 their intention to create a new petroleum super-company, which will take the third place among Russian petroleum companies in oil recovery and volume of stocks.

Russian Oil Industry looks like the country's major oil firms will continue to merge over the next few years until only one or two world-scale players remain. "I'm hoping that one of those will be ours," said Mikhail Khodorkovsky, chairman of Yukos, one of the largest Russian oil company.

Russian oil companies, overflowing with cash and crude, have begun snapping up assets such as pipelines and refineries in former Soviet-bloc countries in a bid to secure market outlets and customers as Russia becomes an oil powerhouse.

Following a challenging market for mergers and acquisitions at mid-corporate level in 2001, the environment in 2002 is likely to be active, but still rather difficult, with M&A negotiating periods considerably extended, as buyers become a lot more demanding, according to David Brooks, Head of Lead Advisory, Grant Thornton Corporate Finance.

The Russian privatization program of government enterprises that took place under the politician Anatoliy Chubajse, was completed in the mid 1990?s. . Within the past four years, the new law has enabled many ?custom made bankruptcies?.A very good example could be the Tyumen Petroleum Company, who has made the practice into something of an art form.

When is a takeover not a takeover? When it's a "merger of equals." That's what PanCanadian Energy's CEO David O'Brien and Alberta Energy chief executive Gwyn Morgan are calling the combination of their two companies: a $20-billion or so marriage (depending on whether you include the debt) between two equal partners.

Why would an oil company raise its oil price assumptions when crude prices are falling? The answer is, to disguise plans to relax capital discipline in key areas. As its rivals have merged and grown since its last strategy review in 1998 Shell has (mostly organically) produced strong returns on average capital employed and $5bn in cost savings.