Gazprom & Nigeria

[CGowen]

Gazprom plans Africa gas grab
...

“What Gazprom is proposing is mind-boggling,” the Nigerian oil official told the Financial Times. “They’re talking tough and saying the west has taken advantage of us in the last 50 years and they’re offering us a better deal ... They are ready to beat the Chinese, the Indians and the Americans.”

Gazprom representative Ilya Kochevrin confirmed the talks with Nigerian officials. “We made a decision to go global in terms of acquiring assets and developing strategy outside Russia. Africa is one of our priorities,” he said.

Any move by Gazprom to establish itself in Nigeria, long dominated by companies such as Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron and ExxonMobil, would reinforce a global trend of state-backed energy companies challenging western rivals.

Although Nigeria is an important provider of liquefied natural gas to the US and Europe, western energy companies have historically focused on producing and selling oil from Nigeria, which is Africa’s biggest producer of crude. However, demand has prompted plans for more facilities to cool natural gas into the liquid state, which makes it possible to ship to Europe and elsewhere.

..
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ac1749e6-bb13-11dc-9fbc-0000779fd2ac.html

Promising suitor in move to catch Nigeria’s eye

Gazprom’s move to capture a share of Nigeria’s vast gas reserves is one of the boldest forays in the global fight for African energy assets.

Representatives from Nigeria’s government and the Russian state-owned group say they are discussing a proposal under which the company would offer a package of energy investments. In return, Gazprom would gain a production foothold in some of the biggest gas deposits in the world and a presence in an export market increasingly important to the US and Europe.

....

Gazprom has promised to bring its considerable experience to help with one of Mr Yar’Adua’s biggest priorities – ending the chronic electricity shortages that are sapping growth in the country of 140m people, where poverty is rife.

Gazprom has offered to build a project to capture the huge quantities of gas burned off during oil production in a process known as flaring. Russia and Nigeria – the two biggest gas flarers in the world – are both trying to end the wasteful practice.

Environmental groups estimate that Nigeria burns off almost half of its roughly 5bn cubic feet of daily production because of a lack of gas-gathering networks. Mr Yar’Adua’s government has made increasingly strident threats of fines and shut-downs against oil companies to try to make them speed up progress to end flaring this year, a deadline that the companies are unlikely to meet.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/982ebdfa-baf1-11dc-9fbc-0000779fd2ac.html

[AP]

1. Nigeria is a corrupt and violent country though you'd never know it because the MSM gives it a pass

thanks to the fact that their government plays well with American gas companies.

So, you can bet that the last thing the American corporatocracy wants is for Gazprom to get involved in Nigeria and cut any kind of deal that leaves Nigeria with more money, especially if it ends up reaching the Nigerian masses and improves their democracy.

[Doctor Cynic]

2. Yes, because Gazprom getting involved will ensure that

Nigerian government officials will stop looting all the revenue...