Tag: natural gas

North Korea accepts Russian invitation to Victory Day Parade

Russia has invited North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to attend a May ceremony marking the end of World War II, in what would be Kim’s first foreign visit since taking the helm of the reclusive state in 2011, Japan’s Asahi Shimbun daily said Wednesday.

Kim would probably meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, as North Korea backs Russia in the Ukraine crisis and Moscow needs Pyongyang’s cooperation in boosting natural gas exports to South Korea, the newspaper said, quoting unnamed diplomatic sources.

It was unclear whether Kim would accept the invitation, the Asahi said.

But the North Korean leader accepted an invitation to visit Moscow, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday.

“North Korea is seeking to deepen both diplomatic and economic ties with Russia at a time when its political relationship with China remains chilly,” the agency said.

North Korea is seeking closer ties with Russia as it faces international criticism over accusations of human rights abuses and its nuclear program.

Putin held talks with Kim’s personal envoy last month and called for deeper ties with North Korea to improve regional security.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said North Korea was ready to resume stalled international talks on its nuclear program.

North Korea, South Korea, Japan, China, Russia and the United States began talks in 2003 to rid the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons, but they were suspended after Pyongyang tested nuclear devices in 2006 and 2009.

US President Barack Obama is not going to visit Russia any time soon, Mark Stroh, the National Security Council spokesman told the Sputnik news agency on Monday.

“At this time, the President has no plans to travel to Russia in the near future,” Stroh said.

The Colder War

The conspiracy theories surrounding the death of Total SA’s chief executive, Christophe de Margerie, started the second the news broke of his death. Under mysterious circumstances in Moscow, his private jet collided with a snowplow just after midnight. De Margerie was the CEO of Total, France’s largest oil company.

He’d just attended a private meeting with Russian Prime Minister Medvedev, at a time when the West’s relationship with Russia is fraught, to say the least.

One has better odds of being struck by lightning at an airport then a snow plow, or any other ground support vehicles hitting a plane and killing all inside the plane, in my opinion. And I say that as someone who’s familiar with airports, having worked at Vancouver International Airport when I was in university; I was the one who would bring the plane into its parking bay.

If it weren’t for those short odds, a snowplow on the runway with an allegedly drunk driver would be the perfect crime. But who would benefit from his death?

De Margerie was one of the few business leaders who spoke out against the isolation of Russia. On this last trip to Moscow, he railed against sanctions and the obstacles to Russian companies obtaining credit.

He was also an outspoken supporter of Russia’s position in natural gas pricing and transportation disputes with Ukraine, telling Reuters in an interview in July that Europe should not cut its dependence on Russian gas but rather focus on making the supplies more secure.

But what could have made de Margerie a total liability is Total’s involvement in plans to build a plant to liquefy natural gas on the Yamal Peninsula of Russia in partnership with Novatek. Its most ambitious project in Russia to date, it would facilitate the shipping of 800 million barrels of oil equivalent of LNG to China via the Arctic.

Compounding this sin, Total had just announced that it’s seeking financing for a gas project in Russia in spite of the current sanctions against Russia. It planned to finance its share in the $27-billion Yamal project using euros, yuan, Russian rubles, and any other currency but US dollars.

Did this direct threat to the petrodollar make this “true friend of Russia”—as Putin called de Margerie—some very powerful and dangerous enemies amongst the power that be, whether in the French government, the EU, or the US?

In my book The Colder War, one chapter deals with “mysterious deaths” and how they are linked to being on the wrong side of the political equation. Whether it’s going against Putin or against the petrodollar, there are many who have fallen on both sides.

If Total doesn’t close the $27 billion financing it needs to move forward with the Yamal LNG project then we’ll know someone stepped in to prevent an attack on the petrodollar. The CEO of Total, before his death and his CFO were both strong supporters of Total raising the $27 billion in non US dollars and moving the project forward with the Russians. But, this could all change if the financing does not complete.

How many other Western executives who dare to help Russia bypass sanctions—and turn it into an energy powerhouse—will die under suspicious circumstances?

Marin Katusa, is author of The Colder War, manager of multiple global energy-exploration hedge funds, and co-founder of Copper Mountain Mining Corporation.