Tag Archives: Oil

Japan ignoring price cap, paying 16% more for Russian oil

However, what the US political establishment is afraid of is that others will soon follow Japan’s example.

Drago Bosnic, independent geopolitical and military analyst

On April 3, the Wall Street Journal reported that Japan, one of the most prominent US vassal states, is now buying Russian oil at prices significantly above the illegal US/EU cap, effectively breaking the sanctions imposed by the political West. According to the report, Japan also got Washington DC to agree to the exception, claiming that the move was aimed at maintaining the energy security of Japan.

The concession outlines just how dependent Tokyo is on Russia for fossil fuels. WSJ claims that (Western) analysts think this contributed to “a lot of hesitancy” in Tokyo to back the Kiev regime more decisively. It also exposes the political West, which realized that the price cap was essentially meaningless and was put together hastily in a way it doesn’t actually have any negative impact on Russian energy exports, serving as a symbolic attempt to maintain the illusion of the power of Western sanctions.

However, the ongoing energy costs surge means that unless the illegal price cap is lifted, the political West is very close to “shooting itself in the foot”. In fact, unlike most European/Western countries that are claiming to have reduced their reliance on Russian energy, Japan has actually increased its import of Russian natural gas in 2022. Apparently, Tokyo is also the only G-7 member that is yet to supply lethal weapons to the Neo-Nazi junta, while Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was the last G-7 leader to visit Kiev after the start of the SMO (special military operation). The move was widely seen as a futile attempt to mirror the much more consequential meeting between Vladimir  Putin and Xi Jinping. Luckily for Japan, the Kishidа government still hasn’t changed its stance on transferring so-called “lethal aid” to the Kiev regime.

This is crucial for the country’s economy, as in the first two months of 2023 alone, Japan bought approximately 750,000 barrels of Russian oil for a total of ¥6.9 billion (Japanese yen), according to official trade statistics. At the current exchange rate, that is close to $52 million or just under $70 a barrel, which is over 16% higher than the fantasy price cap the political West’s leaders were boasting about and how it “limited Russia’s revenues”. And while Tokyo rejects the notion that it’s so dependent on Russia for its energy security, the fact that it asked its US overlords for a price cap exemption is a testament to that. However, the mainstream propaganda machine is still adamant that Japan is an “avid supporter of Ukrainian democracy and freedom”.

Still, this is no more than empty rhetoric, as the oil purchases authorized by Washington DC are a significant break from the declared “red lines” on the illegal Russian energy price cap, which currently stands at $60 per barrel for Russian crude oil. Last year, Japan was granted an exception to the cap by September 30 for oil purchased from the Sakhalin-2 project in Russia’s Far East. An official of Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said that Tokyo wanted to ensure access to Sakhalin-2’s main product, natural gas, which is liquefied and then shipped to Japan. “We have done this with an eye toward having a stable supply of energy for Japan,” the official said. Tokyo has also been a major contributor to the project which was originally aimed at Japan’s energy security.

The unnamed official stated that a small quantity of crude oil is also being extracted alongside natural gas at Sakhalin-2 and needs to be sold to ensure LNG (liquefied natural gas) production continues. “The price is decided by negotiations between the two parties,” he said. Russia accounts for approximately 10% of Tokyo’s LNG imports, most of it from Sakhalin-2, while Japanese imports of natural gas in 2022 were 4.6% greater than in 2021. Tokyo seems to be trying to avoid Germany’s fate, as Berlin, which relied on Moscow for 55% of its natural-gas imports in previous years, has been completely cut off from Russian natural gas through self-imposed embargoes and US terrorist attacks on both Nord Stream pipelines.

As Germany has replaced its reliance on much cheaper Russian gas with US LNG shipments, which are significantly more expensive, this is taking a toll on the already struggling German economy. Many US experts and policymakers are upset that Japan is refusing to do the same. “It’s not as if Japan can’t manage without this. They can. They simply don’t want to,” James Brown, a professor at Temple University’s Japan campus claims. Brown wants Tokyo to withdraw from the Sakhalin projects to show “they’re really serious about supporting Ukraine”. However, Tokyo is extremely reluctant to exit a project in which it has invested substantial resources and that has been ensuring its energy security since the 1990s.

However, what the US political establishment is afraid of is that others will soon follow Japan’s example. Once the Russian Urals surges past $60 per barrel, others will be affected by potential sanctions, meaning that Washington DC and Brussels will need to do some explaining on how and why Japan is allowed to buy Russian oil while being unaffected by the price cap, but they can’t. As a result, the affected countries will not only start distancing themselves from the West politically, but also economically and financially, as paying $70 or even $80 per barrel for Russian crude is a very tempting alternative to the more expensive Saudi or Norwegian oil.

UK circumventing its own sanctions against Moscow to import Russian oil

Drago Bosnic, independent geopolitical and military analyst

It is now virtually common knowledge that the political West’s attempts to destroy the Russian economy through sanctions have failed spectacularly. However, what the Western mainstream propaganda machine is fighting tooth and nail to accomplish is suppressing the fact that the sanctions war has also backfired and is now ravaging Western economies, especially those whose prosperity was largely based on access to cheap Russian energy. This is particularly true for Germany, the European Union’s industrial powerhouse which is now suffering the consequences of its suicidal subservience to Euro-Atlantic Russophobia.

However, what’s much less commonly acknowledged is the fact that there are many countries that don’t seem to be too dependent on Russian energy, but are in fact suffering as a result of the sanctions war against Moscow. This is especially true for the United Kingdom, whose political establishment is one of the most fervently Russophobic in NATO. With London being one of the Kiev regime’s key backers, it would be expected to see the former colonial superpower much less dependent on any commodities coming from Russia. Still, Moscow’s status as the world’s premier energy superpower makes this extremely difficult (if not impossible) to achieve.

In order to tackle the mounting energy security issues, exacerbated not only by anti-Russian sanctions, but also by the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK is now resorting to finding loopholes to circumvent its own sanctions against the Eurasian giant. The escalation of the Ukrainian crisis has led to a dramatic reshaping of European (and, indeed, global) energy markets, with the political West declaring its intention to cut dependency on Russian energy imports. Expectedly, the UK was at forefront of this effort and was even hailed as “one of the most successful countries” in achieving this after it officially stopped importing Russian oil and coal, while also imposing an outright ban on Russian natural gas.

By October last year, London’s imports of Russian energy were officially cut to almost nothing, with approximately $2.5 million of oil purchases and virtually no coal or natural gas from Russia. However, recent revelations cast serious doubt on these numbers, indicating that the UK’s claims mostly boil down to simple semantics. According to reports by various sources, the UK is not importing oil (directly) from Russia, but it still keeps importing Russian oil. This is possible thanks to third countries (India being one of them) that are now re-exporting Russian-sourced oil to the UK and others in the political West. This has provided a very convenient back door for imports of Russian oil into the country, while also being quite lucrative for third parties.

According to Kpler, India’s Jamnagar refinery, operating on the west coast of Gujarat, imported 215 shipments of Russian crude in 2022, which represents a 400% increase in comparison to 2021. At the same time, British companies have imported approximately ten million barrels of diesel and other refined oil products from Jamnagar since February 2022, which is an increase of more than 250% of what they bought from the Indian refinery during the previous year. The data indicates that this can only be explained by a much larger share of Russian oil being refined and then exported to the UK and elsewhere.

More importantly for Britain, this move is blunting the disastrous effects of energy shortages in the UK, a problem that is now affecting many other countries that have been forced to impose sanctions on Russia, often coerced into it by London itself. British companies have simply replaced imports directly from Russia with imports from third-party refineries that are buying Russian crude. Although there’s nothing illegal in such a framework, it’s still quite indicative of the UK government’s hypocrisy. London has been exerting tremendous pressure on others to stop importing Russian energy (Hungary perhaps being the best example of this), while secretly doing just the opposite.

Prior to Moscow’s counteroffensive against NATO aggression, India wasn’t particularly known for importing Russian energy, while it was even less common for its oil refineries to process Russian crude. Indian companies have always been oriented towards exporting refined oil to Europe, but their supplies to the old continent have skyrocketed as the demand is still there and someone needs to fill the gap. This is quite profitable for India, as prices in the EU are quite high, while Russia is supplying the Asian giant with record amounts of discounted crude. Meanwhile, British companies are turning a blind eye to this fact, as they need guaranteed energy supplies, so everybody seems content with this arrangement – except Kiev.

Oleg Ustenko, one of Volodymyr Zelensky’s advisers, is accusing the UK companies of “exploiting weaknesses in the sanctions regime”.

“The UK must close the loopholes that undermine support for Ukraine by allowing bloody fossil fuels to continue flowing across our borders. About one in five barrels of the crude oil that they process is Russian. A big chunk of that diesel they produce now will be based on Russian crude oil,” Ustenko stated.

It remains to be seen if the UK will ever respond to these demands, as they don’t seem to be particularly important to London. It’s quite clear that even if one of the Neo-Nazi junta’s top overlords were to proceed with closing the existing loopholes, the idea that the UK won’t find new ones is downright laughable, as it would’ve never tried bypassing its own sanctions in the first place.

Western Ukraine to be Annexed by Poland, Putin Proposes to Dissolve Treaties Between Russia and E.U. PLUS Saudi Arabia to Dump Petrodollar?

war destruction in ukrainian city

Here is summary of some of what I consider to be today’s top geopolitical stories. We shall begin at Davos where the Saudi Arabian finance minister is saying they will accept other currencies besides the dollar for oil and gas! Is this the final nail in the coffin of the petrodollar?

Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said on Tuesday that the kingdom is open to trading in currencies aside from the US dollar in order to “improve trade.” 

“There are no issues with discussing how we settle our trade arrangements, whether it is in the US dollar, whether it is the euro, whether it is the Saudi riyal,” Jadaan told Bloomberg at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. 

Why it matters: Jadaan’s comments are the latest indication some Middle Eastern states are moving away from the US dollar — albeit slightly. Last year, The Wall Street Journal reported that Saudi Arabia was considering pricing oil sales to China in the yuan. Source

Next we move onto Russia and President Putin’s proposal to the State Duma (congress) to dissolve all treaties Russia has with the EU! This is a huge move and signals the END of any diplomacy between Russia and the EU.

Russian President Vladimir Putin this morning transmitted to the State Duma (Congress) a Bill to Terminate all Treaties between the Russian Federation and the Council of Europe.

The document was published on the Duma’s electronic database on Tuesday.

“Due to the termination of the Russian Federation’s membership in the Council of Europe, starting on March 16, 2022, [it is proposed] to consider as invalid with regards to the Russian Federation the following international agreements: the May 5, 1949 Statute of the Council of Europe, <…> the November 4, 1950 Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, <…> the January 27, 1977 European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism,” the document said.

In total, it is proposed to denounce 21 documents. Source

Up next is a story that’s been circulating as a RUMOR for almost a year, since the Russian SMO began last February. It appears that Poland is about to expand it’s territory at the expense of it’s neighbor. Like I said this has been a story that’s been circulating since the war in Ukraine began and the Western media has dismissed it (until now) as Russian propaganda.

Last May…

From November 2022

The director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, Mr. Sergey Naryshkin, told Russian journalists that individual countries are considering various options to help Ukraine in its war against Russia. Naryshkin said options for annexing parts of Ukraine were being considered. Poland is one of the stalwarts, according to Naryshkin, who can annex western parts of Ukraine.

According to Naryshkin, Poland can annex parts of the Lviv, Ternopil, and Ivano-Frankivsk regions. Poland’s goal, Naryshkin said, is to compensate for aid that Western partners have so far refused Ukraine. In this way, Ukraine [the western parts] will receive not only NATO protection, but also economic stability. Source

So as you can see it wasn’t a big shock to me when Hal Turner put out this story earlier today.

In an utterly stunning development, most of Western Ukraine is now being shown on Poland Television as having been ANNEXED to Poland!

The people of Poland are being shown their country is now expanded to include western Ukraine.

Here. Look:

Like I’ve been saying, I don’t know why this was such a shock for Hal but I’ve been watching this unfold for almost a year. Maybe it helps justify NATO expanding the war as Russia continues it’s attacks into Western Ukraine or it’s just part of the unfolding NWO plan. The Nazis wanted Ukraine for its farmland and it appears that they still do. Remember the Nazis didn’t lose WW2, the Germans did. The Nazis just went underground for a time while they infiltrated everything.

Last but not least is Russia making the announcement of up to a 1.5 million man mobilization of their military to help in their war against NATO and it’s proxy Ukraine.

In late December the Russian defense ministry in a televised briefing which had President Putin in attendance unveiled it plans to significantly boost its armed forces strength.

Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu presented a plan to take the roughly one million strong armed forces to a level of 1.5 million personnel in the near-term, or at least the coming years. He indicated he expects that this bolstering in forces would include some 695,000 volunteer contract soldiers.

On Tuesday, the Kremlin gave confirmation to the plan unveiled in that December 21 meeting, and explained the rationale for the ramping up in personnel numbers, describing that the “proxy war” nature of the Ukraine conflict has made the move necessary.

“The proxy war includes elements of indirect participation in military action, elements of economic war, financial war, lawfare,” Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Source

You can support this ministry and keep us on the internet using the links below.  Patreon and PayPal are gone so now we have Cash App and Buy me a Coffee as our online options.  The new buy me a coffee link is below. 

Buy me a Coffee

Cash App ID: $jstorm212

US shale oil boom has already come to an end

Ahmed Adel, Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher

The US promised to supply more oil and gas to Europe to compensate for the loss of Russian energy, relying primarily on its shale industry to fill the gap. However, in addition to questions on the feasibility of drilling expensive wells that deplete quickly, shale oil companies cannot increase output and achieve the desired profit levels to make the endeavour worthwhile to begin with.

Although the US oil and gas industry had propagated a lot of hope behind it, it was hit by the pandemic. The number of drilling rigs gradually decreased and many companies became bankrupt, especially those that were even struggling before the pandemic. They were mostly struggling due to a sharp drop in investment inflows into the industry.

It is recalled that Fitch Ratings recently forecasted that it would take two or three years of growth to reach pre-pandemic levels once again. The problem is that investors are losing interest in shale oil companies as profit levels are not worth the risk and high expenses.

About $125 billion in investments was brought to the US shale oil industry in 2010-2014 and investors were satisfied with the results of the so-called “shale decade”.  However, it was found that the top companies spent nearly $200 billion more than they earned and only a very few of them made any profit at all, especially as thousands of wells have pumped much less oil and gas than initially anticipated.

Although $56.6 billion was attracted to this sector in 2016, this massively decreased to only $19.4 billion in 2019. Although output has increased, the lack of investments has seen a wave of bankruptcy hit the US shale oil industry. The first year of the pandemic saw nearly 50 industry-related businesses file for bankruptcy.

Another factor in the failure of shale oil is inconsistent government policy. The Joe Biden administration, for example, blames high gasoline prices and promotes production. At the same time though, the American president threatens to raise taxes on “dirty” energies, such as oil and gas. This is despite the rapid depletion of shale oil fields, which limits profits and increases investor risks.

Paal Kibsgaard, head of the world’s largest oil and gas services company Schlumberger, explained that investors do not want to buy stocks from companies that inflate their budgets; BP CEO Robert Dudley explained that unlike Saudi Arabia and Russia, which adjust production depending on demand, US shale oil producers only react to price; and Pioneer CEO Scott Sheffield believes that pressure from investors and limited capacity by operators to increase production means that shale oil companies cannot drill or they risk of running out of shale oil.

According to FLOW Partners, the top US shale drillers – EOG Resources Devon Energy, Diamondback Energy, Continental Resources and Marathon Oil – will run out of reserves in about six years if they boost production expansion at 15% per year. Sheffield believes that the real index is 2-3% per year, while prices range from $70 to $100 a barrel. 

Keeping in mind that before the pandemic, the index was 30%, it suggests that the shale oil revolution is coming to an end, evidenced by a dramatic drop in the share of this oil product in the global market. 

It is recalled that Oil Price declared on November 23, 2022 that the “US Shale Boom Is Officially Over.” A follow up Oil Price report, released on New Year’s Day, highlighted that there might be another reason for the slowdown in shale oil production in the US: There is not as much accessible and economical shale oil underground as advertised.

“There may be other sources of oil worldwide that will somehow make up for the significantly lower growth in US shale oil production. But no other source seems set to provide the kind of growth US shale oil provided, that is, 73.2% of the global increase in oil production from 2008 through 2018,” the report added.

Scathingly, the report said that undoubtedly a new oil saviour will be announced, “whether credible or not,” adding that “the world economy will be faced with limited oil supplies that do not simply grow to meet our fantasies of what we want. The result will be high prices, that is, higher than has been historically the case.”

Shale oil for the better part of a decade was advertised as the US’ answer in becoming a major oil exporting country. However, this initial optimism has ended in major disaster, particularly for the Europeans who hoped that this energy source could replace Russian oil and gas.

Johnny’s Commentary

At the end of the day it is the World Economic forum that has decided that regular people (you and me) should not be allowed to own vehicles as that creates too much depletion of metals and fuel which contribute to “climate change”. The way to curb or eliminate vehicle ownership is to make them far too expensive for the everyday person to afford by taxing and restricting oil and gas production, mandating electric cars that cost $80,000-$100,0000 (and cook you like a microwave in the process of driving it) because after all, you will own nothing and be happy in their NWO. Right.

Below are 2 videos that show you what I’m talking about here. First up is a video on the WEF and their plans for vehicle ownership beginning NOW. This video will help you to understand WHY Biden keeps restricting oil and gas production and is ending all oil/gas subsidies and tax breaks big oil enjoyed all of those years.

Your cars will be banned!

Next up is a video on DANGERS of driving an electric car! If you ever wanted to know what it’s like to cook yourself inside of a microwave oven, here you go!

Electric Car video on bitchute

WEF Plans video on bitchute

You can support this ministry and keep us on the internet using the links below.  Patreon and PayPal are gone so now we have Cash App and Buy me a Coffee as our online options.  The new buy me a coffee link is below. 

Buy me a Coffee

Cash App ID: $jstorm212

Russia proposes construction of joint oil fleet with India

photo of ship

This is just another example of Russia and India joining ever closer together with their economic and military ties. As I’ve said numerious times in my videos, the power structure has shifted from West to the East. India and Russia have even recently discussed ditching the dollar as a trade mechanism between them. I just put up this post about Modi and Putin making a joint statment the other day declaring that they have a “privileged strategic partnership” despite Western pressure.

Now to bypass Western sanctions, India and Russia are considering a joint oil tanker fleet to avoid insurance issues and other hassles with shipping. Here is more from Ahmed Adel, Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher

Moscow has proposed to cooperate with New Delhi in building or leasing large oil tankers to circumvent Western sanctions and ensure crude oil transportation capacity. Specifically, this is in order to ship more crude oil to the largest buyers of Russian oil and not to lose profits.

The price cap on Russian oil imposed by the G7, the European Union and Australia has only had a limited effect on non-participatory countries. Since the imposition of the price cap on December 5, Chinese traders are still working as usual and private refiners have bought Russian ESPO oil.

According to the International Energy Agency, India’s import of Russian oil has increased from 30,000 barrels per day in February, to 1.08 million barrels per day, surpassing even China which imports 830,000 barrels per day.

In total, fuel traffic to Asia has tripled to 2.5 million barrels. The surge, according to S&P Global Commodities, has seen China and India now account for 68% of Russian crude oil exports shipped by sea, a reflection of the difficulties Russia faces in the West, such as receiving insurance and transportation services.

It is recalled that earlier in December, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar stressed: “We do not ask our companies to buy Russian oil. We ask our companies to buy oil (based on) what is the best option that they can get.”

None-the-less, there are now complications in transporting Russian oil, resulting in increased freight rates. In addition, as mentioned, Western companies refuse to provide insurance for Russian oil tankers.

“It is necessary to change the routes of about half of the two million barrels per day. A shortage of ships is inevitable,” credit rating agency S&P Global Ratings pointed out.

It is for this reason that India and Russia are seeking to cooperate in shipbuilding – Russia needs oil customers and India is energy hungry, and just as importantly, both countries have an established relationship built on decades of fulfilling mutual interests. As Russian crude oil is mainly exported on foreign tankers, which can no longer be insured by Western companies, building a Russian-Indian shipping fleet is of mutual benefit.

The knock-on effect is clear: New Delhi will continue to buy as much Russian oil as it wants, even at a price set above the G7’s price cap as it can always refine the oil itself and resell it to Europe for profit. Also, complete independence from Western insurance, financial and transportation services is something that would be of mutual Russian and Indian interest as they both consolidate their respective spheres of influence in the Age of Multipolarity.

It is also for this reason that both countries are aiming for de-dollarization, with Russia expected to be one the first countries to use the Indian rupee trade settlement mechanism. Russia is not the only country interested in India’s rupee trade settlement mechanism, with Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Cuba, Luxembourg, and Sudan also expressing interest.

It is recalled that during Jaishankar’s visit to Moscow last month, he said that India will boost economic ties with Russia.

“For us, Russia has been a steady and time-tested partner and, as I said, any objective evaluation of our relationship over many decades would confirm that it has served both our countries very, very well,” he said.

India’s commitment to building relations with Russia is reflected in the fact that it has refused to impose sanctions despite Western pressure and has abstained from United Nations resolutions condemning Moscow over its military operation in Ukraine.

At the same time, as tensions between India and China mount, New Delhi cannot afford to risk upheaval in its military which is heavily dependent on Russian-made tanks, fighter jets and missiles.

Relations between New Delhi and Beijing have been less than ideal since a clash in June 2020 left several Indian and Chinese soldiers dead. With these tensions now renewed, India is especially not looking to sever its relations with Russia despite Western pressure, but in fact deepen them, including in the military industrial sector.

India has also increased its purchases of oil, coal and fertilisers from Moscow as part of their deepening of ties, and are boosting cooperation in the military and financial sectors. Although the West is insistently pressuring India to step back in its relations with Russia, the idea to create an Indo-Russian fleet to circumvent Western sanctions point to the very fact that nothing will undo this decades-old relationship.

Source: InfoBrics

Washington Post effectively admits NATO sabotaged Nord Stream pipelines

Drago Bosnic, independent geopolitical and military analyst

The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines were subjected to a series of sabotage attacks on 26 September 2022. The perpetrators used explosives to render parts of the strategically important natural gas pipelines inoperable. The first explosion was recorded at 02:03 local time (CEST) and hit the Nord Stream 2. A pressure drop was detected and natural gas began leaking southeast of the Danish island of Bornholm. Seventeen hours later, the same occurred to Nord Stream 1, resulting in three separate leaks northeast of Bornholm. The attacks happened just a day after Poland and Norway opened the Nord Stream’s competitor, the Baltic Pipe, running through Denmark, bringing in gas from the North Sea. The sabotage was carried out in international waters, but within the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of Denmark and Sweden.

As per usual, the mainstream propaganda machine of the political West immediately started blaming Russia for sabotaging its own natural gas pipelines. The “cartoonishly evil” Kremlin was once again accused of allegedly “weaponizing” its vast energy reserves against the European Union. For months, claiming anyone else was behind the attacks would get one branded a “conspiracy theorist”, a designation perfectly fit to have dissenting opinions “canceled”. However, in a wholly unexpected turn of events, Washington Post published a surprising admission on December 21, stating there was “no conclusive evidence” that Russia carried out the attacks. The report was issued following a months-long investigation which proved that the explosions were indeed the result of a deliberate act of sabotage.

Washington Post also noted the frenzied accusations that Moscow was behind the attacks, which began just hours after the sabotage and the ensuing massive gas leaks into the Baltic Sea. “After explosions in late September severely damaged undersea pipelines built to carry natural gas from Russia to Europe, world leaders quickly blamed Moscow for a brazen and dangerous act of sabotage. With winter approaching, it appeared the Kremlin intended to strangle the flow of energy to millions across the continent, an act of ‘blackmail,’ some leaders said, designed to threaten countries into withdrawing their financial and military support for Ukraine,” the authors stated, adding the following: “But now, after months of investigation, numerous officials privately say that Russia may not be to blame after all for the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines.”

The US daily issued the rare admission after interviewing 23 diplomatic and intelligence officials in nine countries, all of whom have been involved in the international investigation into the sabotage attacks which have jeopardized the EU energy supplies this winter. “There is no evidence at this point that Russia was behind the sabotage,” one European official is quoted as saying. The report further indicates that “some went so far as to say they didn’t think Russia was responsible. Others who still consider Russia a prime suspect said positively attributing the attack — to any country — may be impossible.”

Although the final admission that Russia didn’t sabotage the pipelines clearly exonerates Moscow, it opens up a number of questions, as it is obvious someone else certainly did it. There are several other prime suspects, usually in independent and alternative media. The consensus in most such sources is that the United States is the main culprit behind the attacks, quite possibly aided by its regional vassals. However, such points of view could be heard in the mainstream media as well, albeit much more seldom and prone to being completely dismissed. In early October, Jeffrey Sachs, a UN expert and one of the most prominent economists in the world shocked a Bloomberg panel after stating the US was most likely behind the attacks.

“I would bet [the attack] was a US action, perhaps US and Poland,” Sachs said at the time only to be immediately interrupted by the host and asked to provide evidence, to which he responded: “Well, first, there is direct radar evidence that US military helicopters that are normally based in Gdansk were circling over this area. We also had the threat from [President Biden] earlier this year that ‘one way or another we are going to end Nord Stream.’ We also had a remarkable statement from Secretary of State [Antony] Blinken last Friday in a press conference where he said ‘this is also a tremendous opportunity.’ That’s a strange way to talk if you’re worried about piracy on international infrastructure of vital significance.”

In light of the new revelations by the Washington Post and given the fact that the US profited immensely as a result of the EU-Russia economic decoupling, particularly the EU’s weaning off Russian natural gas, the points made by the well-known Columbia University professor sound more relevant than ever. The destruction of the pipelines came approximately a month after some in the EU suggested using the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to increase Russian energy imports and also “coincided perfectly” with the manifold surge in US LNG shipments to the EU, which surpassed Russian natural gas deliveries for the very first time. This has become so obvious that even the usually compliant Brussels bureaucrats complain that the US is engaged in war profiteering.

Source: InfoBrics

You can support this ministry and keep us on the internet using the links below.  Patreon and PayPal are gone so now we have Cash App and Buy me a Coffee as our online options.  The new buy me a coffee link is below. 

Buy me a Coffee

Cash App ID: $jstorm212

Russia is Preparing a Massive Strike for Georgia as it Seeks to “Strangle the EU” of Oil from Azerbaijan

Now this is a very interesting move by Russia even as it moves trainloads of tanks towards NATO and the West. This is also solidifying Russia’s relationship with Iran and BRICS. Here is more from Warnews247, translated from Greek via Google for your convenience.

By Vassilis Kapoulas

Shocking information is circulating in the Russian media about an impending energy crushing blow to the West. Russian media are preparing the ground for Russia to close the last energy valve of Europe, namely all pipelines passing from Azerbaijan to the EU.

The Russian strike will focus on controlling all of Georgia and the pipelines that pass through its territory.

The Russians seem determined along with Iran to completely close the Caspian to the EU and at the same time control Central Asia and its energy corridors on behalf of Eurasia.

This information comes as the energy war between the West and Russia culminates with the recent demand for a ceiling on the price of Russian oil and its products.

At this moment literally all the hopes of the West and specifically the EU have fallen on Azerbaijan and the pipelines that pass through this country.

Russia’s grip on Central Asia and the Caspian

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent visit to Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, for the 6th Caspian Summit not only brought the evolving Russia-Iran strategic partnership to a deeper level, but the five littoral states of the Caspian Sea agreed that they would not warships or NATO bases are allowed in the area.

This essentially shapes the Caspian as a virtual Russian lake, and in a secondary sense, as an Iranian one – without compromising the interests of the “three” countries, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. 

As the Caspian Sea is connected to the Black Sea by canals off the Volga built by the former USSR, Moscow can always count on a reserve fleet of small boats – always equipped with powerful missiles – that can be transported to the Black Sea at short notice. it it’s necessary.

Stronger trade and economic ties with Iran now go hand in hand with the three “countries” engagement with Russia. The gas-rich republic of Turkmenistan sends most of its exports to China.

Under an arguably more pragmatic new leader, President Serdar Berdimuhamedow, Ashgabat may eventually choose to join the SCO and/or the EAEU.

But all signs point to Tehran stepping on the pedal to strengthen ties with Moscow. It just gained full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) – the first and only West Asian nation to do so – and is now seeking to join the BRICS. The compass for the course of Iran’s foreign policy has been set.

The role of Georgia and South Ossetia

It is no coincidence that the new president of the Republic of South Ossetia, Alan Gagloev, suspended on May 30 the recent decree of his predecessor Anatoly Bibilov, which announced a referendum on unification with Russia on July 17.

Any union of South Ossetia with Russia would not favor all of Moscow’s geopolitical plans.

Officially, the reason for the cancellation was the need for consultations with the Russian side while it was emphasized “the inadmissibility of taking unilateral decisions on issues that affect the interests of Russia” .

“Today we see that our strategic partner, the Russian Federation, is dealing with geopolitical issues, carrying out a special operation in Ukraine. We must understand our strategic partner” said South Ossetian sources.

The same opinion was expressed by the Ambassador to the Russian Federation Marat Kulakhmetov:

“The decision on the referendum was made without taking into account the opinion of the Russian side.”

Russian sources say that Georgia’s behavior does not leave much room for a peaceful resolution of the disputes. Moscow seems determined to control the entire flow of Caspian oil and natural gas.

The fact is that the union of South Ossetia with Russia will mark the final Russian control of about two kilometers of the Baku-Akstafa-Tbilisi-Gori-Samtretia-Supsa (Azerbaijan-Georgia) 840-kilometer oil pipeline.

However, Russia does not gain control over the rest of the pipelines that pass through Georgia in the direction of Turkey and the EU. For this reason, it needs a “detonator” that will blow up the region and cause Russian military intervention.

This reason will be given by South Ossetia in the future.

Therefore, it is not surprising that on April 7 of this year, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that the alliance will extend military-technical support to Georgia. On April 27, the US State Department announced plans to send an additional $35 million worth of arms shipments to Georgia in the near future.

Meanwhile, the Azerbaijan-Georgia pipeline is operating without interruption in all sections including the section passing through the territory of South Ossetia.

Thus, at the end of November 2021, the thousandth tanker loaded with 650,000 barrels of oil from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli offshore oil and gas block left the Supsa terminal in the Black Sea

This supply was intended for Italy. The operator, BP, is busy pumping through this pipeline. Ayten Hajiyeva, BP’s Vice President for Georgia, said that

“Baku-Supsa is an important international oil route. And a good example of our safe operations in Georgia and the region”.

The same opinion was expressed by Eldar Gaziev, Director of Export Pipelines BP Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey Eldar Gaziev:

“We are proud of the high performance of the Baku-Supsa pipeline during its more than 20 years of operation.”

More than 700 million barrels of oil have been transported through the Baku-Supsa pipeline since its opening in 1999 until the beginning of 2022. According to BP (May 2022), at least 100 thousand barrels of oil are still pumped through this pipeline.

So the factor of oil pipelines is the driving force of developments in the region. 

Russia in move in Georgia closes almost three plus two EU pipelines causing chaos and energy blackout…

Source Warnews247

Prepare….

That’s what I hear when I pray today. Prepare. Time is short folks. If you have any last minute items you need or have something you’ve been putting off (like me) then don’t hesitate any longer. Get it done.

War between Iran and the U.S. is a certainty and once it starts gas prices could go as high as $12 per gallon so I’d fill up now if you can. Today the Trump administration will address both houses and I expect them to say all indications are for war. Iran and the rest of the world knows it’s coming, only here in America do the people continue to scoff and mock. The videos below will show you what’s coming. God bless and stand firm.

Update: US “Official” States “Highly Likely” Iran was Behind Attacks on Two Oil Tankers

The “deep state” truly wants to kick off their so called end times war in the middle east. All of the useful idiots (neocons) are in place and now war with Iran is almost assured. Expect oil prices to skyrocket once the US and it’s allies retaliate. All of this comes after the Perian Gulf nations all rallied this week against Iran, blaming them for all of the tensions in the region including the attack on a Saudi airport 2 days ago. Updates are in the video below. Got Jesus?