Tuesday 17 November 2009

A Future Uncertain - Nevermore (2005)

The Ukraine-Russia natural gas conflict has taken another turn in the past week as Ukraine struggled to make October’s payment. They vowed and delivered on the promise to make the payment but it surely raises questions about the security of their gas supply as we move into the winter months. Take a look below at an excerpt from an article I came across.

State-owned utility Naftogaz Ukrainy is scrambling to pay Russian firm Gazprom for natural gas consumed in October, reports say.

The October bill is $460 million.

Naftogaz cited an economy mired in recession and its customers' inability to pay their bills as reasons for its late payment to Russia. As per the contract between the two nations, Ukraine has until the seventh day of the month to pay the previous month's bill. Ukranian Minister of Fuel and Energy Yuri Prodan was confident that the monies would be paid by the deadline.

To read the full article click here.

The only way to grasp this conflict is to completely understand the roots of the issue. To satisfy this need, I encourage everyone to have a look at one of our newest web-based training courses developed in response to this crisis.

European Gas: Security of Supply

This JUST-IN-TIME course was created in response to the events in January 2009 when Russia curtailed supplies into Ukraine and many parts of Europe. Even as these two nations have come to an agreement to get gas flowing again, their dispute is a long-running one that has been brewing ever since the breakup of the Soviet Union. We are unlikely to see the last of it. What are the underlying dynamics of the dispute and how prepared is Europe and the rest of the world for when this situation makes headlines in the future?

For more information click here.

Friday 13 November 2009

Barcelona - Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballe (1987)



Next week, The Oxford Princeton Programme is in Barcelona as a return exhibitor to EMART Energy 2009 to take place 18 - 19 November at the Centre Convencions Internacional.

If you are there, be sure to visit us at Stand C25 and even try your luck at our Energy Education Wheel of Fortune for a chance to win a free web-based training course voucher.

Representing us are the friendly faces you see above: Ms. Lesley Rigg, Sales Director - Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific and S. America (on the left); and Ms. Paula Coolman, Principal Sales Executive.