How will BP's handling of one of the world's biggest environmental disasters affect the Russian oil and gas industry?
With the United States of America facing the worst oil spill in their history and BP being dragged over the coals by both the US Senate and environmental groups, CIS Oil and Gas looks at the potential for disaster with Russian offshore oil projects.
Shipping and maritime trade is crucial to the world's economies and essential for many countries, but greenhouse gas emissions from worldwide shipping currently account for more than 3 percent of all annual global emissions. That is more than the entire UK economy, and it has seen an 85 percent rise since 1990.
Europe has reserves of its own, so who are the rivals of Russia's oil reserves and why aren't they being exploited?
With exploration projects all over the world and many of their number being amongst the world's top producers, you would have thought things were at a high for Russian oil and gas companies. However, declining global oil prices and a decreased demand for raw materials has shaken the Russian economy and for the first time in a long while, Russian oil and gas companies are worried.