THE EAST
AND WEST
R
ussia has been a major global player in pipeline activities since the Soviet Union’s fall in 1991. Aiming to revitalise the country
by addressing the inherited economic and infrastructural shortcomings of the Soviet era, as well as the added transitional
challenges, the Russians have focused on developing their vast fossil energy resources to feed the growing global energy
requirements. Apart from breakthroughs in exporting coal and nuclear energy technology, turning Russia into the world’s single
largest exporter of oil and gas has been the main achievement. The bulk of such exports have been through pipelines used to feed oil
and LNG tankers destined for the markets beyond the reach of their export pipelines, and those designed for such exports.
Westward energy exports to Europe is not a recent phenomenon for Russia. Dating back to the Soviet Era, Moscow began exporting
oil to Western Europe via the Druzba (Friendship) pipeline. Yet, such exports have become phenomenally large in the post-Soviet era,
turning Russia into the single largest oil/gas supplier to the EU. Certain Russian projects, such as the Nord Stream (55 billion m
3
/yr),
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