Viktor Katona

Latest articles from Viktor

• Russia’s Kurdish Pipeline Gamble

  Published 20 September 2017 | viewed 18,123 times

  Rarely does one see such a multi-faceted move as Rosneft declaring it will build a $1 billion pipeline bringing gas from Iraqi Kurdistan to Turkey.…

• The World’s Largest Offshore Oil Field Is Back In Action

  Published 18 September 2017 | viewed 40,211 times

  Without much international fanfare, the world’s largest offshore oil field and the largest discovered in the last 40 years, Kazakhstan’s Kashagan Field, is on the…

• Can Russia Develop Its Shale Reserves?

  Published 05 September 2017 | viewed 21,820 times

  Russia’s tight oil will play an increasingly important role in its oil output, underpinned by the fact that 20 percent of its current reserves already…

• Gazprom’s Gas Dominance Grows In Europe

  Published 04 September 2017 | viewed 15,015 times

  It is doubtful that there could be a less appropriate time to increase Russian gas exports to Europe, yet that is exactly what Gazprom is…

• Russia’s Comeback In The LNG Race

  Published 31 August 2017 | viewed 17,910 times

  In a little more than a month’s time, Russia will formalize its claim for a bigger role in the ever-expanding global LNG market. Early October,…

• The Slow Death Of Nuclear Power In Europe

  Published 30 August 2017 | viewed 26,068 times

  Nuclear energy has been moving away from power-rich countries to nations bereft of diverse power generation opportunities, all the more so after the 2011 Fukushima…

• Russia Eyes Rapid Middle East Energy Expansion

  Published 09 August 2017 | viewed 11,815 times

  Having battled through the travails of an ever-tightening sanctions regime and a prolonged economic downturn, which in most cases led to a freezing up or…

• Against All Odds: The Return Of An Oil Giant

  Published 01 August 2017 | viewed 10,508 times

  Only a year ago, the Brazilian state company Petrobras seemed a complete basket case, an exemplary case of how not to lead a company that…

• Why Are Majors Shying Away From Gazprom?

  Published 27 July 2017 | viewed 14,084 times

  Despite being the operator of Russia’s only operating LNG project, Sakhalin II, Gazprom has experienced quite a bit of misfortune with its pursuits. Its flagship…

• The Abrupt Demise Of Dutch Gas

  Published 20 July 2017 | viewed 17,301 times

  The largest and oldest-producing gas field in Western Europe, the Groningen field, is on the verge of being shut down. If that happens, it will…

• Settling The Ukrainian Gas War

  Published 20 July 2017 | viewed 13,732 times

  The conflict between Ukraine and Russia has taken on many facets, of which the energy-related ones are seemingly the easiest ones to solve. As Kiev…

• How To Successfully Privatize A National Oil Company

  Published 10 July 2017 | viewed 20,227 times

  Budgetary pressure, falling revenues, cost-cutting measures and general ambiguity – just a few of the characteristic traits that have marked the latest oil price recession…

• Putin’s Newest Oil Play: Russia Gains Foothold In Iraqi Oil Patch

  Published 13 June 2017 | viewed 22,588 times

  The Kurds of Iraq are going through one of their most tumultuous periods of history. On the verge of finally seeing the much-heralded independence referendum,…

• Is Russia Running Out Of Patience With OPEC?

  Published 07 June 2017 | viewed 30,282 times

  Fulfilling its promise to all other signatories of the Vienna deal, Russia has cut its crude production by 300 000 barrels per day. The relative ease…

• The Biggest Hoaxes In The Oil Market

  Published 30 May 2017 | viewed 30,563 times

  The most traded commodity of the 21st century, oil is an essential factor to both oil-producing and oil-importing nations’ financial stature, and consequently it remains…

• What Is Behind The Surge Of Russian Oil Exports To India?

  Published 25 May 2017 | viewed 24,323 times

  In the first five months of 2017, Indian companies have purchased more than 1 million tons of Russian crude supplied from Black Sea ports. In…

• Russia Reemerges As China’s Top Crude Supplier

  Published 17 May 2017 | viewed 16,325 times

  Even a layman with no specific interest in international affairs could observe that the Russo-Chinese relationship has reached new heights in the last few years.…

• Low Oil Prices Won’t Deter Russia From Arctic Drilling

  Published 22 April 2017 | viewed 24,379 times

  In the wake of the recently organized Arctic Summit in Arkhangelsk and Rosneft getting drilling activities underway in the Laptev Sea, one cannot help but…

• Can Lenin Solve Ecuador's Oil Crisis?

  Published 13 April 2017 | viewed 16,531 times

  100 years after the Great Russian Bolshevik Revolution, Lenin has once again seized power. Lenín Moreno, a socialist candidate and former UN Envoy on Disability…

• When Will Russia Run Out Of Oil?

  Published 04 April 2017 | viewed 73,464 times

  On a global level, 2015 and 2016 marked the lowest level of new conventional oil discoveries since 1952. In 2016, only 3.7 billion barrels of…