What is the Future of European Gas Supplies (part 5 of the energy series)
When I wrote this piece in December 2020, I did not exactly foresee the Ukraine situation. The situation was so well known that one thought that NATO and the west would back off. Well, one learns new things every day. In Part 4 - The Russian Angle it was evident that Ukraine was a chokepoint for the West to exploit and the opposition to Nordstream 2 had much to do with it. “The Russian pipeline system ran through Ukraine, a legacy of the cold war, and it was a weak spot for Russia particularly as relationships soured with Ukraine and NATO became more interested in Ukraine. It may be noted that Ukraine's location was strategically very strong, although it has no Natural Gas of its own”. “The dramatic change in the equation between Russia and China has largely come about because of Natural Gas requirements of China and Russia’s ability to service it. In very significant ways it challenges the existing geopolitics of the world. China has the strength to do a Yuan-Ruble deal with