Russia to Rally Energy Suppliers against Consumers
Lobbying
Gazprom’s chief lobbyist at the State Duma has suggested creating an alliance of CIS nonprofit organizations to counterbalance a new energy alliance of France and Germany. The outcome of the upcoming battle between Yazev and Angela Merkel and Jacques Chirac will depend on Gazprom’s plans on financing it.
Valery Yazev, chairperson of the State Duma’s Energy, Transport and Communications Committee and unofficial mouthpiece for energy-related ideas of Russian authorities, revived on Monday an idea of creating an alliance of gas lobbyist organizations in the CIS. Speaking at a session of the supervisory board of the Russian Gas Association, the Duma deputy suggested creating the International Alliance of National Nonprofit Gas Organizations (IANNGO) of gas producing and transporting nations.
Yazev made it clear straight away that the idea belongs to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “It went on the back burner because of the G8 summit in St. Petersburg,” Yazev explained. “Alignment of forces on the gas market has changed drastically after German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Jacques Chirac agreed to set up the Atlantic alliance which demanded that Russia sign the EU Energy Charter and the transit protocol,” he said. Yazev underscored that the European Union for Russia is “a cartel of consumers” which regulates access to pipelines. In a hope to shift the balance of forces in the world, the deputy proposes setting up the IANNGO.
The strategy of the IANNGO development the says the alliance will be an nonprofit organization which will support from the EurAsEC – Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and gas associations in Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Moldova. Russia must become the key integrator in the alliance as “the owner of one third of world gas reserves and the largest network of pipelines”, says Yazev. Obviously, the Russian Gas Association will become this kind of integrator. As a long-time purpose, Yazev hopes that Iran will join the alliance to strengthen the IANNGO’s ideological control over one half of the world gas reserves.
According to Yazev, the IANNGO will play the key role in coordinating legislation of member countries. It means IANNGO members will have the same gas prices and transportation tariffs. They will be also taking part in joint use and modernization of transit infrastructure, holding assets in producing, transportation and processing enterprises as well as creating international calculation of gas and harmonizing laws. Yazev suggests discussing this initiative at a round table meeting at the annual Gas of Russia 2006 forum in Moscow on November 20.
Gazprom would not comment on Yazev’s idea yesterday. However, it is worth noting that the deputy has repeatedly voiced ingenious ideas for authorities to put into practice later. In May, Yazev, for example, was the first to speak about an impending energy conflict between Russia and Europe at an international gas congress in Berlin. It was him who drafted a law on the sole line of gas exports. Valery Yazev’s spring forecasts came true this fall. Germany declined Vladimir Putin’s offer of an energy alliance as Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller declared independent development of the Shtokman deposit. Furthermore, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel signed a memorandum with French President Jacques Chirac in an outspoken matter the following day creating an alliance of the two powers.
The lobbyist war between Russia, the EU and the United States over gas gives Yazev and his brainchild, the IANNGO, almost unlimited opportunities for lobbyism. Cold Gas War is going on almost openly. The United States officially supported Europe in confrontation with Gazprom on Monday. U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Euroasian Affairs Matthew Bryza said in an interview with the Financial Times that Nord Stream makes the EU heavily dependent on Russian gas. “I wonder as a US official how much diversification anybody can develop by having more pipelines into the same supplier?” Bryza asked himself and said that people in the European Union would not like to go through what happened last winter with Ukraine when Russia shut off the supply of gas.
With this stance in the air, Valery Yazev’s statements sound a covert response of Russian authorities and Gazprom to aggressive lobbyist actions of numerous European and American companies. But quite possibly, launching the IANNGO project Yazev (whom Gazprom unofficially calls “a member of the BOD at the State Duma”) only wants to upgrade his political status and obtain extra financing for the expansion of the Russian Gas Association as an international organization. In this case, the IANNGO’s chances to become a player which determines energy strategy of major states will depend on Gazprom’s willingness to contribute at least a ruble.
Natalya Grib, Ekaterina Dudareva and Dmitry Butrin
All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 31, 2006
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