Schroeder and Gazprom

[forza]

Oil.
Anne Applebaum - and she's a wife of polish head of Ministry of Defense Radek Sikorski - wrote in Washington Post on Schroeder work for Gazprom...
It's from 14th of December.

"Even here in Washington -- a city populated by lobbyists who once held political office and government officials who once worked as lobbyists -- it's hard to top the story of Gerhard Schroeder. Last week the former German chancellor announced that he'd accepted a job offer from Gazprom..."

[nancy]

forza,

tell us about GAZPROM

[forza]

Gazprom is a gigantic business club of Yeltsin friends and relatives that took a legal form of corporate entity, where decisions are not based on profit/loss bases only but have to include political calculations as well. It is Bechtel merged with White House type of entity yet composed of people rather preferring power over gold. Entry limited to USSR dignitaries.
Oil gigant capable of donating money to institutions on American soil but significantly less affluent and influential then big oil players from Arabic countries.

[nancy]

no wonder that Schroeder wanted that pipeline from Russia to Germany, he knew he needed a job.

What do the Poles think of this?

[bescheid]

Forza and Nancy

With hesitation of entering an ethnic thing here, I at first entended not to enter this discussion. But, I would be remiss if not to do so.

My only entention is only to add with information. As a person, I must walk a fine line as for one, I am American, but, with very strong German roots and ties. As this is a Polish forum, the incidence of irking some Polish nationals and ethnic polish friends here cauld be a very high risk, I would rather not take.

But, I do need to add to this very find discussion, some additional information that perhaps would give additional light upon this matter.

What we (your selves) are seeing today in asmuch to European business development, was seeded just after the cold war for a new Europe (Multidementional Europe) to emerge. And,now it is here.

The Russians had very little choice in the developent under Putin for Gazprom in the location of the controvesial pipe line. The finances were brokered through several German banking firms, one such with branch offices located in Russia, being the Dresdner Bank.

The American banking industry was just too short sighted to catch on in time, now since the ink is dry, they of course want into the action.

Polish interests are actully being protected with the admittance into Gasprom of Gerhard Schröder as Foreign Advisor. This man will orcrstrate for Poland, natral gas (earth gas) with hook ups from the main conduit (under sees gas line). With the money saved from paying over land fees, this will keep the prices down.

Poland is switching away from petrolium purchases from Russia in this manner to both Germany and Norway.

www.brusselsjournal.com/node/568

I will later add this information in a following post.

We live in a different world that has evolved out of the old world. It is different, the playing field no longer will sustain old ideas and old memories. We must as people, change with our world (adopt, adjust, and prosper). The American industry (aircraft and auto manufactering) used those main conscepts thus being, adopt, adjust and prosper, and that they are doing at present. (please bear with my spell mistakes, spell check forgot to adjust)

Charles

[bescheid]

Forza and Nancy

The petroleum information:

Please note: The origianl url would not transfer, please to understand the long version.




Poland intends to cut reliance on Russian gas
by Judy Dempsey

18-11-05 Moving to bolster its energy security, Poland is set to become the first East European country to try to reduce its dependence on Russian natural gas imports by increasing its sources, according to government officials involved in Poland's energy sector. The plans, still in the early stages, would entail Poland buying natural gas from Germany and Norway and constructing a large liquefied natural gas terminal near Gdansk, close to the German border.
"Poland is developing an energy strategy aimed at diversifying its energy supplies," said Zbigniew Kamienski, deputy director in the department of energy security at Poland's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Labour. "We want to diversify our natural gas imports," he said.

Poland imports 5.7 bn cm, or 61 % of its natural gas supplies from Gazprom, Russia's state-owned natural gas company.
Coal, which is produced domestically, is still the largest supplier of Poland's energy needs, accounting for around 60 %. Natural gas covers only 11.7 %. But because natural gas will rise to 20 % by 2025, according to estimates by the economy ministry, Poland is eager to seek new sources.

With prices for natural gas and oil at record highs, Russia said in October it would consider raising its natural gas prices to Poland, although Poland's Economy Ministry said it was unclear whether the prices could be renegotiated. In a long-term contract that Poland signed with Gazprom in 1996, the Russian company agreed to supply Poland with 167 bn cm until 2022.
The reason why Poland wants to diversify its gas imports is not just because of the rising prices. Polish officials said the country's newly elected conservative government believes that President Vladimir Putin of Russia is using his country's vast energy reserves to exert influence in the region.

Gazprom, for example, has spent the past few years buying gas distribution companies and terminals throughout Eastern Europe and the Baltic states to control prices and gain direct access to the energy markets of countries that joined the European Union in 2004.
More recently, Gazprom signed a contract with two of Germany's biggest natural gas companies to build the North European Pipeline under the Baltic Sea. The pipeline would allow Russia to sell and deliver natural gas directly to Western Europe, bypassing Poland.

Iwona Wisniewska, a Russia expert at the Centre for Eastern Studies in Warsaw, which is funded by the Polish Foreign Ministry, said once the North European Pipeline was built, Poland would lose its status as a transit country for Russian natural gas exports to Europe and a bargaining chip with the larger country.
"That is one of the reasons why the new government wants to diversify its gas imports," Wisniewska said. But diversification was easier said than done.
"The driving force behind the need for diversification is energy security. But for the moment, the only way for Poland is to buy gas from Russia. The other options are costly and difficult to implement," Wisniewska said.

Kamienski, from the Economy Ministry, said there also were plans to develop domestic natural gas resources.
"We want to diversify our natural gas imports, for instance using gas from Ukraine and opening discussions to increase Norwegian natural gas consumption. There is also the possibility of developing LNG" or liquefied natural gas, he said.

Poland's natural gas company, PGNiG, has signed a contract with Verbundnetz Gas, a natural gas trading and energy service provider in eastern Germany. Markus Wild, a spokesman for the company, said Verbundnetz Gas and PGNiG had set up a joint trading company in which Germany will sell gas to Poland.
Importing natural gas from Norway will be more difficult. Poland first started negotiations in the mid-1990s but the plan was shelved when a leftist government was elected in Warsaw.

The Energy Regulatory Authority, which oversees tariffs and prices in Poland, said Norwegian natural gas would be more expensive than Russian gas at the time.
Roland Goetz, an energy and Russian expert at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, said he was sceptical that Poland could raise financing for a pipeline that would link the countries.



Source: International Herald Tribune


Charles

[forza]

Schroeder job was taken rather coldly here. Many Poles were displeased to see Putin and Schroeder friendship flourishing, their birthday parties and other private encounters showing how well they get along together. Putin was a KGB spy in Germany and is fluent in German so that might have helped there, too. Poland breaths much better with new German chancellor Mrs Merkel who so far showed some signs of understandings to polish predicament. Schroeder has his own enemies in Germany, too for the job he took.
In Poland we watch recent price increase for gas to Ukraine as somehow symptomatic. Ukraine is to pay 5 times more for its gas, the same goes for Georgia and Latvia but Belarus is spared so far the increase in price.
We pay the same what the French and Germans are paying for their share in gas but several months ago Poland was asked by Gazprom for revision of its gas contracts.
Germany considers buying lots of gas from Russia as good business practice and claims it actually makes Russia dependent on them not otherwise. In Poland we'd like to diversify our sources rather as we see that gas/oil is used by Russia to play political games; see punishing Ukraine for its political choices or adding to the table oil prices when Russian minority rights are discussed with Latvia.

[forza]

Poland doesn't buy that much of gas from Russia at least it is much less then Germany. I think Russians or Germans have absolutely right to built a pipeline for even for themselves only. Our claims of loosing gas transfer fees do not appeal to me nor the pretenses that the project is unsafe ecologically. Perhaps it is true that Schroeder job in Gazprom would be beneficial to polish interests. We would have to wait and see. And it is probably true that German banks are the main force behind the whole project. Nevertheless for Poland it is uncomfortable position. It would be happy if Germany was more skeptical and watchful toward Russia. Merkel is a good option for Poland.
Lastly Poland and Germany had done a great deal of cooperating in all what was important to Poles: repayments to workers once forcibly working in Nazi Germany, revisions of history books to name just a few of many, many projects, political, bilateral, local initiatives that brought and brings two nations together. There are in fact many people in Poland who like Germans and probably many more who like Germany. It seems that is not so common around Europe. Poles are actually very similar to Germans in terms of traditions, food, culture. It is thousand years of those to states/tribes neighboring.
I have no comment on Russia. ( )

[bescheid]

Hello Foza

Your impressions are valuable, as it provides a more complete picture of unfolding events as they occure; also a personal veiw point. Your comments are most appreciated.

You are a very exceptional person Forza, you are very perceptive and insightful with an excellent instinct for action. Your post caught my self at a very delicate point in time. Truth is, I was still smarting with a certain amount of internal hurt from an earlier post on another thread. I see it is gone now...thank you. I do try to stay neutral in these matters.

You are correct with the problem between Russia and Ukraine. It is a financial dispute over gas prices connected with transportation fees. It is one thing to produce a product, but then, it must be transported to the place of purchase. Hopefully, those two will have this straightend out forth with.

You are correct with the problems Schröder is incuring with his new position with Gazprom. In Germany, he is considedered sleeping with the opposition as a traiter. If given some thought to this, it is a very smart move in manners of control. As the foreign adviser of Gazprom, he has a considerable amount of influence in decision making in favour of Germany and friends. This, and German financing, with a German national as CEO, you see, the plot thickends into understandabilty.

Their is a North German Saying: To insure a long life, it is good to stay close to your friends. It is also good to stay even closer to your enimies ( Für langes Leben zu bleiben ist gut, nah an Ihren Freunden, es zu bleiben ist sogar besser, nah an Ihren Feiden.)

As a further: The firm of Norsk-Hydro (Norwegian) will be in charge of construction of the North European Gas line. Now remember, Norsk-Hydro gained negitive fame in the war, they were the company with the hydro werk (dams) that one was used to produce heave water for the nuklear programmme in Nazi Germany.

The pipe line is scheduled for completion in 2010. It will serve the following nations at present: Poland, Baltic states, UK, Scandinavia Netherlands, Belgium and France.

It is very timely for Europe, as at present, there is a decline of Gas reserves in the North Sea fields.

I do believe you are very correct in terms of Russian dependance of Gas revenues in the future. It is very certain that Putin has determined this. So as to expect future expansion and development of transportation systems out of the currant and future Caspian regians.

You are also very correct with the new Chancellor of Angela Merkel, she is a new force in Politects. Already she has the French kissing her hand. I would tend to believe she will be making her mark felt in the very near future.

www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=27639

Charles

[nancy]

Charles and forza,

thank you both for your remarks, it helps in my ongoing education.

[Pawian]

forza said:

I think Russians or Germans have absolutely right to built a pipeline for even for themselves only. Nevertheless for Poland it is uncomfortable position. It would be happy if Germany was more skeptical and watchful toward Russia. Merkel is a good option for Poland.

I agree. Russians and Germans have the right to do what they want. That`s economic freedom in which I have always strongly believed.

My remarks:
1. Germans are smart guys and want to ensure for themselves the supplies of recources no matter what the situation in the East is. They ignore Poland`s fears, it is so natural, because resources are more important.

2. Schroder is accused by some Polish press of being a Russian agent who hastily signed the contract on the pipeline and then became its boss. I heard it also provoked a big ferment in the German Parliament.

3. Gas transported by a new pipeline is supposed to be more expensive than this from already existing pipelines. It is becase the cost of construction and manitanance of the underwater pipeline are higher and its transport capacity is lower than land pipelines.

4. Putin is not going to run for presidency for the third time. Polish media speculate he is going to become the boss of Gazprom or another oil company which might emerge soon. It is possible that Putin and Schroder will be even closer partners in the near future. Not only political but also business partners.

5. Poland has not much choice. We are doomed to buy Russian gas. The diversification of gas supplies intended by Polish government implies buying gas from Germany. But whose gas will it be"? Not German, of course. It will be Russian. In a way we will still depend on Russia and, what is more, hoping for good German-Russian relations. What a paradox!