- In Search of America's ‘Hottest Forecasters’
- Dow vs. S&P 500: Which is a Better Investment?
- Mick Fleetwood on the MP3 ‘Dumbing Down’ of Music
- Avis on the Road to Strong Growth: Analyst
- Private Homebuilders: Dead Men Walking
- LinkedIn’s Growth Is Already Priced In: Analyst
- The Real Reason Behind Bank of America’s Rally
- 5 Hedge Funds’ Top Stocks Soar After 2011 Rout
- This Valentine’s Day Love Is Served on a Silver Platter
- Greece Warns Bailout Rebels of Dangerous Path
- Greek Cabinet Approves EU, IMF Bailout Bill
- Iran to Announce 'Very Important' Nuclear Progress
- We're Not Greece: Italian Prime Minister Monti
- S&P Lowers Ratings on 34 Italian Banks
- Private Homebuilders in the US: Dead Men Walking
- Dividend Payout Could Hit Record Amount This Year
- With Investors So Bullish, Stock Pullback Must Be Ahead
- Obama Likely to Call for Cutting Top Corporate Tax Rate
Putin: Russia/Iran Gas Cartel "Interesting" Idea
Text Size 
Web Editor
Today commodities traders are trying to determine whether recent talk of a new OPEC-style cartel for natural gas [US@NG.1
Loading...
()
]is serious or not. The proposed alliance would primarily be between Russia and Iran. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the idea was "interesting." Could a natural gas cartel be in Wall Street's future, or is Russia after something else?
This is not the first time that Vladimir Putin has talked about forming such an alliance, but this time the markets seem to be taking it more seriously. “We have now Iran bringing it up as well as Putin,” said Russell Gold of the Wall Street Journal. “So I think everyone now is taking it a little more seriously, than when it came up a couple years ago.”
Most analysts believe the fragmented nature of the gas market makes it unlikely exporters could find enough common ground to work together, at least in the near term. "Basically the gas exporting countries are too different,with competing not complementary interests (to form a gas OPEC)," Jonathan Stern of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies said.
They see recent statements as something else, entirely. “This is a lot more about geo-politics than it is about natural gas,” explained Alex Turkeltaub, Managing Director at Frontier Strategy Group, a consulting group based in Los Angeles.
“The Russians want to increase their influence in the Middle East,” he said. “They want to be seen as a power broker... In respect to that, this move makes sense for strengthening Russian influence in foreign policy.”
In other words, Putin is trying to put himself center stage in the nukes dispute between Iran and the White House. “He has carrots to give the Iranian regime,” continued Turtletaub. “If (Iran) sticks it out and continues to improve relations with Russia – "Russia has things to offer that will be valuable to Iran as a dependable ally."
That doesn’t mean a nat-gas alliance is out of the question. In the long term, a cartel could materialize, and if so, what would US reaction would be?
“US reaction would not be strong,” said Russell Gold. “The US gets most of its natural gas either domestically or from Canada. But those supplies have been strained over the last few years.. that’s not going to last.”
Iran, Russia and Qatar control more than 50% of the world’s natural gas reserves.
- Marketing clichés aside, sometimes diamonds are for investing.
- The ‘Fast Money’ traders weigh in on fashion related stocks from apparel to footwear.
- This list of the 10 most active cities for speed traps was compiled by Trapster.com. See if your town is there.
- This Valentine’s Day should prove a love fest for restaurants, as many couples will be dining out.
- Here’s a look at Westminster Kennel Club’s most successful breeds—and how much they cost.
- What kind of homes do celebrity couples share? Here’s our updated list. Take a look.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes
