RE: Sanctions in the energy sector 28 Jul 2014 08:34
Shell, BP, defence firms and any city conduit used by foreign investors to buy Russian bank bonds will be effected by Van Rompeys list. Singapore, Hong Kong and Beijing must think Christmas has come early. If Cameron approves then he's got no one to blaim but himself when his fragile government underwritten mortgage driven recovery stutters into reverse. Or maybe he's just loading up a hospital pass for the next government to be flattened with. As for RPO, the question is how retrospective will the sanctions be of existing contracts and how much will it effect their work with Schlumberger. Of course their gas fields will be unaffected. As for how long they last, well the latest from E Ukraine is that the rebels are loosing ground fast. If in two weeks time (as some commanders have predicted) the rebel forces have had to show their heels the the questions about Russian support cease to be an issue and hence so are the sanctions. If Europe wants to keep the lights on after 2015 they better stop listening to the wolves in sheep's clothing and get on with building South Steam pronto. PS always a chance PetroChina use their new found influence over Russia as an opportunity to make bids for fields like those owned by RPO