Hear: Russia, Russia Everywhere
Filed under: Planet Money Podcast
Today on Planet Money:
If you're an American and your gas stove won't light, you start by calling a repair company or checking to make sure you paid the bill. If you're a European, you might start by blaming Russia.
Russia's state-owned Gazprom appears to have cut the supply of gas to neighbors from Romania to Austria. It's the second time in recent years that Russia has turned off the spigots. Meanwhile, in Africa, Nigeria is burning off 20 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year -- because it has no way to ship the stuff to market.
As Eurasia Group analyst Geoff Porter tells it, some in Europe would like to build a pipeline from Nigeria through Niger and Algeria, then across the Mediterranean to France. It's a bit of a pipe dream, but one player has shown some interest in the region -- Russia's Gazprom.
After the jump, more photos from Porter, plus a map from Eurasia Group.
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Porter says a pipeline through here might as well have a bull's-eye on it.
Geoff Porter, Eurasia Group
4:57 PM ET | 01- 7-2009 | permalink
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