Is U.S. Intentions to Manipulate Russia to Cut off Gas to Japan and be Replaced by U.S. LNG??

 Oil & Gas

The War Heats Up!

If you don’t know what is going on

“Follow the Money Trail”

Japan’s Kishida steps on Russian oil slick

Indian Punchline

M.K. Bhadrakumar

  Last week, President Vladimir Putin issued a decree that appears to be a step towards nationalisation of the foreign shareholdings in the giant Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project where Mitsui and Mitsubishi hold 22.5% shares. The five-page decree says it is up to the Kremlin to decide whether foreign shareholders should remain in the consortium.

  Meanwhile, Tokyo’s support for the US proposal at the recent G7 summit advocating a price cap on Russian oil has put Moscow’s back up. On Tuesday, the former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev sternly warned that Japan would be kicked out of Sakhalin-2 project and its supplies of Russian oil and gas cut off if it supported the US move. Medvedev forecast that if any price cap is imposed on Russian oil, the market price will touch somewhere between $300-$400 per barrel!

  Sakhalin-2 is critical to Japan for meeting its energy needs. Sakhalin-2 alone meets about 8% of Japan’s gas needs and to replace it, Tokyo has to buy from spot market where competition for LNG shipments globally is currently intense and the price is around 6 times that of Russian gas. Besides, Japan’s entry will tighten the LNG market materially this decade, as Japan will have to compete with Europe.

  As Russia tightens its screws on Japan, it appears Kishida may have bitten more than what he could chew on the price cap idea. Top Japanese experts have doubted the rationale behind Japan’s policy trajectory. Of course, Moscow’s dexterity to use oil and gas as geopolitical tool is not to be doubted. The Kremlin decree on Sakhalin-2 could be intended, partly at least, as a wake-up call that alienating Russia could damage Japan’s vital long-term interests. Patrushev spoke up only four days after that.

DYI:  This article is far more in depth than four paragraphs I placed onto my blog.  This goes without saying – [but I’ll say it anyway] – this is news you will not hear especially on the T.V. main stream press and yet it is off high importance.  If this goes all wrong with oil prices hitting $300 a barrel gasoline prices would be around $15 dollars a gallon!  If prices held at that level for more than 90 days the U.S. will go into a severe recession as bad, possibly worse than the 2009 downturn.  I’m not predicting this to occur but it is a possibility that must be entertained.  With the U.S. stock at nose bleed valuation levels an obvious massive selloff would occur.  So hold onto your hats the Great Wait is over so hang onto your cash and gold better valuation are ahead!

 DYI