VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
“Either you have gas or you have none-and call it anyway you like. Russia has gas, and has enough of it to satisfy our own growing demands and that of our European consumers for a hundred years to come, or even longer. I say this with full confidence, relying on serious studies.”
“As for other routes, we have nothing against them. However, Project Nabucco, so frequently talked about now, does not cut the number of transit countries. True, it bypasses Ukraine, but it actually increases the number of transit countries - Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia, and even more because the pipeline will not work at full capacity unless, for instance, Iran joins the project. We will be glad to see the project implemented someday. It will improve the balance of European energy supply.”
“We have also drafted a separate document on building a major underground gas storage facility in Hungary, with Hungarian company MOL acting as Gazprom's partner in the project.”
“The feasibility study of the South Stream Hungarian stretch will be completed before the end of the year-possibly by September. The feasibility study of the entire South Stream system must be completed by June 2010, and the construction deadline is December 31, 2015. The system must start working that day.”
“We intend to pump 10 billion cubic metres of gas along the Hungarian stretch. The entire South Stream is designed for 31 billion, but it might be more. Construction is estimated at 10 billion euros now, but we might do with less as construction material prices are plummeting. There are no problems with financing, though energy prices are dropping and there are other economic problems-in particular, shrinking volumes. There are no problems, either-at least for the time being-with attracting money to this and similar projects.”
“Gazprom, together with its partners - Shell, Mitsui, and Mitsubishi - will soon launch capacities for liquefying and transporting natural gas produced in the Sakhalin area, and that is also Russia's contribution to global energy security. Incidentally, LNG technologies and market have bright growth prospects and are extremely important for energy security.”
“We intend to build transport infrastructure in all directions. The first stage of the pipeline system Eastern Siberia - Pacific Ocean is in the final stage. Its terminal point will be a new oil port in Kozmina Bay and an oil refinery in the Vladivostok area. In the future a gas pipeline will be laid parallel to the oil pipeline, toward the Pacific and China. We are beginning another project with Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, the Caspian Pipeline. I would like to emphasize that we should certainly make the environment one of our priorities while implementing such projects. We always conduct environmental studies at early stages of each project to take care of environmental issues. We also make substantial investments in restoring the environment.”
“I propose we start laying down a new international legal framework for energy security. Implementation of our initiative could play a political role comparable to the treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community. I have no doubts on this matter. That is to say, consumers and producers would finally be bound by a real single energy partnership based on clear-cut legal foundations.”
“Guaranteeing the transit of energy resources remains a challenge. There are several ways of tackling it, and all must be used. The first is to adopt generally recognised market principles of fixing tariffs on transit services. They can be recorded in international legal documents. This practice should affect oil and gas, nuclear fuel, and power generation to some extent. The second is to develop and diversify the routes of energy transportation. We have been working long and hard along these lines.”
“I am convinced that projects such as South Stream (a gas pipeline that will run to Bulgaria under the Black Sea) and Nord Stream (to reach Germany directly across the Baltic Sea) are equally needed for Europe's energy security. Their total estimated capacity is something like 85 billion cubic meters of gas a year. Some of our partners and Europe have recently proposed expanding this capacity. We are considering their proposals now; in fact, I think it is the proper time to consider expansion.”
