Bermuda Post

Thursday, Oct 10, 2024

Kyiv says Big Oil should pay to rebuild Ukraine’s shattered infrastructure

Kyiv says Big Oil should pay to rebuild Ukraine’s shattered infrastructure

Energy minister also warns the war risks dragging on forever unless the West closes sanctions loopholes on the Kremlin’s hydrocarbon revenues.

Major international energy companies that raked in bumper profits because of price spikes over the course of the war should pour some of that cash into rebuilding Ukraine's shattered power infrastructure, Kyiv's Energy Minister German Galushchenko told POLITICO.

In a wide-ranging interview, Galushchenko also argued the West needed to close sanctions loopholes on Russian energy sales to prevent an "endless war" in Ukraine, and said Kyiv could provide alternative nuclear fuel so some EU countries could wean themselves off their dependence on Russian supplies.

"A lot of energy companies get enormous windfall profits due to the war. So we estimated this at more than $200 billion," Galushchenko said on a visit to Brussels. "They get this money because we are fighting, because of the war."

"I think it would be fair to share this money with Ukraine. I mean, to help us to restore, to rebuild the energy sector," he added.

The $200 billion figure given by Galushchenko has been widely cited as the profits of five top companies — BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Total and Shell — in 2022. The Kyiv School of Economics estimates the damage to Ukrainian infrastructure at close to $140 billion.

The minister noted that a Lithuanian company, Ignitis Group, is already looking to hand over some 10 percent of its profits to help reconstruction in Ukraine and said bigger companies should follow suit.

Galushchenko also warned that Moscow would be able to wage a perpetual war in Ukraine for as long as the Kremlin is able to rake in cash from selling fossil fuels. Despite sanctions against Russian oil imports imposed by the EU and a price cap set by the G7 club of rich democracies, he warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin was still finding ways to beat international embargoes.

"If on one side you're trying to restrict them and on the other you're giving them opportunities, you'll allow them to make endless war," he complained, arguing the Kremlin was using its energy export earnings "not to help Russian people to live better" but "to produce weapons" and keep the war going.

"This money costs Ukrainian lives," he said.

Russia boasts that it has diverted its oil supplies to friendly countries such as China and India, but there are signs that restrictions from big Western markets are biting hard.

Calculations by Bloomberg on March 3 suggested that tax revenues from oil almost halved in February from a year ago, while gas revenue dropped 42 percent from a year earlier given reduced sales to Europe. The EU's ban on Russian oil has been a key factor is torpedoing the price of Urals crude.

Keen to keep up that pressure, Galushchenko protested that some oil was still seeping under the cordon.

Ukraines Energy Minister German Galushchenko


"It's important not to help Russia to escape sanctions," he said, arguing that "sanctions are efficient only if you have no way to escape and we see the Russians are trying to escape — in some cases, they find a way."

His warning comes amid recent reports that Moscow's hydrocarbons may be reaching EU countries via Azerbaijan and Turkey. Allegations are also growing that Russian oil has been discreetly sold at prices far exceeding the $60 cap imposed by the G7 in December.

The EU's plan to make the bloc independent from Moscow's fossil fuels before 2030, called RePowerEU, includes encouraging member countries to jointly purchase natural gas, and the Ukrainian minister said his country also wanted in on that program.

While the EU has slashed its oil and gas imports from Russia, the bloc still has 18 Russian-designed VVER reactors — located in Finland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Hungary and the Czech Republic — for which no alternative fuel supply exists so far.

Rather than continuing to rely on Russia, they could soon buy their supplies off Kyiv, he said. Ukraine is in the process of making specially-tailored replacement nuclear fuel along with Westinghouse of the U.S. that could be ready by "the beginning of next year."

A destroyed bridge over the Murom river near Russkiye Tishki


He also called on the European Commission to set an EU-wide target for eliminating countries' reliance on Russian nuclear technology, while reiterating Ukraine's call to bring sanctions against Moscow's state-run atomic giant Rosatom for its role in overseeing the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. So far, the EU has refrained from hitting Russia's nuclear industry with sanctions.

"They are participating in the capture and illegal operation of [this] nuclear station," Galushchenko said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Bermuda Post
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
'I just lost it' Lowe’s worker fired after 13 years of employment for confronting thieves trying to steal $2K of merchandise
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
×