Is Russia really going to reignite a gas war with Ukraine? - Quartz

Is Russia really going to reignite a gas war with Ukraine? - Quartz:

"Russia’s government is urging state-owned oil firm Gazprom to collect an over-due $882 million bill from Ukraine’s state-owned oil firm Naftogaz, even as the former Soviet state moves to strengthen its ties to Europe next month.

The belligerent tone and the timing has some observers nervous that Europe might see another winter like 2009, when Russia turned off the spigot bringing gas to Ukraine and, from there, to Europe. This left energy markets scrambling for new sources of winter energy, and millions of chilled consumers paying more for their heat.

But 2013 is not 2009, and there’s a low probability of another crisis as a result of the fallout from the last one. Thanks to the cheaper natural gas that has been unlocked with the application of hydraulic fracturing techniques, Europe has been able to diversify its energy sources, and Gazprom has been losing market share there. A new crisis would hurt both Gazprom’s earnings and Ukraine’s reputation as a transit hub, an outcome neither party to the conflict is interested in, according to Eurasia Group senior analyst Alex Brideau."

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