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.

From Russia With Love - John Barry Orchestra (1964)

Or maybe not, on this St. Valentine's Day.

I am, however, energized over our latest web-based course, European Gas: Security of Supply (Understanding the Russia-Ukraine Gas Conflict), which becomes available on March 1st.

It was just last month that curtailed supplies flowed into Europe, leaving millions without heat in the dead of winter. Whilst the two countries managed to come to an agreement to get gas flowing once more, 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.

This left us wondering whether Europe and the rest of the world are truly prepared for when this dispute makes headlines in the future. It turned into an opportunity to provide education and training to professionals in and out of the gas industry. And we are bringing it to market in record time no less.

The course will discuss:

• How and why Europe has come to rely on imported gas, and on Russian gas in particular
• How Russian gas gets to Europe, and how this may change with new pipeline and LNG infrastructure projects
• How gas is priced, and how the prices that Russia and Ukraine have been disputing compare to other international prices
• How the dispute between Russia and Ukraine arose, and how it might eventually be resolved

I do hope many of you will take advantage of this cost-effective ($175) opportunity to stay on top of this geopolitical energy situation.

Are there any other timely topics out there that you would like to see more in-depth discussion and analysis on?