Hard Light Productions Forums
Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: redmenace on December 11, 2006, 06:59:10 pm
-
http://www.guardian.co.uk/russia/article/0,,1970064,00.html
What is it with siezing energy industries.
-
See... this is why I'm for keeping trident. The ruskies aren't done yet...
-
In Soviet Russia, industry consolidates YOU!
-
The more things change...
On a side note though, did Russia even pay them for their controlling stake? Or did they just let them [shell] do all of the hard work and just decide to sieze it afterwords?
-
The energy minister, Viktor Khristenko, is expected to give details today of a deal under which Shell and its Japanese partners are likely to get a cash payment in return for giving Gazprom a stake in the project.
Looks like they're forcing them to take a smaller share in favour of a russian company rather than seizing the whole lot.
The Sakhalin-2 project is scheduled to start operations in 2008 and involves finding and producing oil and gas near Sakhalin island
Doenst look like shell have done any work yet.
-
The oil is on Russian land and Russia wants a bigger share? Outrageous. Doesn't look like Shell, or anyone else, has invested anything substantial into the project yet, so it's not really stealing.
Don't expect me to cry for Shell. This is Big Oil we're talking about, not cute little orphans or something. Russia's economic future rests in large part with its natural gas sector, so ofcourse they're going to be snatching as much as possible. Who ever said that nationalization of large industries was a sin?
-
well, the general thing is that they aren't being fair, but meh, cry me a river please.
-
It maybe a sin when it turns into the British Coal Industry Circa 1980s
-
The oil is on Russian land and Russia wants a bigger share? Outrageous. Doesn't look like Shell, or anyone else, has invested anything substantial into the project yet, so it's not really stealing.
Don't expect me to cry for Shell. This is Big Oil we're talking about, not cute little orphans or something. Russia's economic future rests in large part with its natural gas sector, so ofcourse they're going to be snatching as much as possible. Who ever said that nationalization of large industries was a sin?
That's very short sighted Rictor. We rely on, god help us, companies like Shell to produce affordable oil in the western world. If someone screws them, they are generally screwing us. In addition to that financial inconvenience, this move also gives Russia far more bartering power at the international level - and while Russia may have crippling financial problems and an internal insurgency in the form of Chechen rebels, they're still a very ambitious people (at least from the top down).
You may not like the status quo, but you'll dislike the alternatives more.
-
The Russian gov. is taking back the only thing they have that gives them any sort of power/presence (other than their military) - natural gas and oil. Without that, the Russian gov. really has nothing other than military force on the world stage, and not everything these days can be solved with a gun.
-
Don't expect me to cry for Shell. This is Big Oil we're talking about, not cute little orphans or something. Russia's economic future rests in large part with its natural gas sector, so ofcourse they're going to be snatching as much as possible. Who ever said that nationalization of large industries was a sin?
Pretty much sums up my opinion too. The petrochemical industry took advantage of the time when Russia was in shambles to get their foot in the door. They can complain all they like but it shouldn't surprise them that once the Russians got their act together they'd want to kick them out again.
-
That's very short sighted Rictor. We rely on, god help us, companies like Shell to produce affordable oil in the western world. If someone screws them, they are generally screwing us. In addition to that financial inconvenience, this move also gives Russia far more bartering power at the international level - and while Russia may have crippling financial problems and an internal insurgency in the form of Chechen rebels, they're still a very ambitious people (at least from the top down).
You may not like the status quo, but you'll dislike the alternatives more.
I don't mind Russia having more political influence. It seems to be sort of a given that when pundits or reporters these days talk about an ascendent Russia it's implicitly a terrible, shadowy thing. With the way the other world powers are acting now (the US, of course, but also Britain (Thatcher was apparently "very sad" to hear of Pinochets death.)) Russia no better or worse than the rest of them. I see the present mild quasi-authoritarianism as a natural backlash against ten years of poverty, corporate looting, decay, crime and non-existant government.
Also, yeah, the Russians are ambitious - they got knocked down to the dirt and kicked around for a decade by nations who were supposed to be gracious winners. LIke you said, Russia has more than enough internal problems to worry about, although the economy and the Chechens aren't really at the top of the list. Chechnya has been subdued and is ruled with an iron fist by Ramsan Kadyrov - they're now rebuilding and any significant insurgency has been eliminated. And the financial situation is nowhere near as dire as in the 90s or early 2000s. Corruption, a declining population and NATO expansion are probably the things that keep Putin awake at night.