Oil row threatens European supply

TAPESCRIPT 5

AM - Wednesday, 10 January, 2007 08:29:30

Reporter: Rafael Epstein

PETER CAVE: Europe is once again contemplating the future of its oil and gas supplies, as Russia's oil dispute with Belarus threatens to disrupt supplies to six other European countries.

The former Russian republic shut off the pipeline that crosses its territory, after Russia doubled the price of some fuel exports.

Europe Correspondent Rafael Epstein.

RAFAEL EPSTEIN: Belarus and Russia had been feuding over gas and oil prices, but on the 1st of January, Russia doubled the price of its gas. The response from Minsk was a massive rise in the price of oil carried across its territory. Moscow refused to pay, and the result was Belarus cut off the vital Druzhba oil pipeline.

That pipeline carries half of all Russia's oil exports to Europe, and with Russia supplying around a third of Europe's oil, and even more of its imported gas, it's a stand-off that has Europe worried.

The EU Energy Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs, says such dramatic disputes mean Europe must diversify i ts energy supplies.

ANDRIS PIEBALGS: I would say it is really not acceptable. Security of supply can't be built on unknowing what is really happening. But we should look generally for alternatives, because now we are most dependent if our economy is from oil. So it means that we should work with biofuels. We should look in the hydrogen economy. We really should look upon what could be alternatives if there is a really definite problem with our supplies globally.

RAFAEL EPSTEIN: With Germany currently holding the presidency of the EU, Chancellor Angela Merkel said the dispute is unacceptable, and she'll raise the matter with Moscow later this month. She also questioned the wisdom of plans in Germany to shut down nuclear reactors over the next decade.

In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin told his government ministers that negotiations with Belarus must continue, and that Russia must "do everything to secure the interests of Western consumers ".

Tim Williams is an analyst at the Royal United Services Institute in London.

TIM WILLIAMS: A lot of European countries are having to think about energy security in ways that they didn't have to before. There is a need for Europe to try and develop a more coherent response on energy, because otherwise big players such as Russia can just pick people off one-by-one and play the game on their terms.

RAFAEL EPSTEIN: Is the response then, if that's the way Russia's going to act, that's even more of a reason why nuclear power is an option?

TIM WILLIAMS: Possibly, yes, but I think, in any case, countries would never be happy in the long-term to have one major source of foreign supply, so they'll always look at alternatives.

Obviously if Russia is going to use energy as a political tool, then that will only increase governments' feelings that that's what they should do, that they should diversify.

But it may well contribute to renewed investment in nuclear, yes.

PETER CAVE: Tim Williams, a European security analyst.

Дата добавления: 2015-03-29