Gauging the Impact of Sanctions: The Future of Russian Oil & Gas Production and Energy Relations Across Eurasia

The Center on Global Energy Policy and the Harriman Institute co-hosted a talk with Louis Skyner, Head of Russia and CIS Oil & Gas Practice, Clifford Chance. Following his presentation, Richard Nephew, Program Director for Economic Statecraft, Sanctions and Energy Markets at the Center on Global Energy Policy provided his thoughts and reactions. Dr. Timothy Frye, Marshall D. Shulman Professor of Post-Soviet Foreign Policy, moderated the discussion.

Mr. Skyner’s presentation considers the impact of the sanctions adopted by the US administration and the European Union on the Russian upstream oil and gas sector in context, as a factor, together with the oil price slide, exacerbating what is a structural slowdown of the Russian economy. It also examines the role played by sanctions in both accelerating and complicating the Russian turn eastwards, and attempts to assess how the increased perception of ‘Russia risk’ may influence both the future strategy of E&P companies in a lower oil price environment and energy relations across Eurasia.

Biography

Louis Skyner, an English qualified solicitor, has headed Clifford Chance’s Russia and CIS oil & gas practice for the past two and a half years. His practice is primarily based on advising international oil companies on their participation in upstream projects in Russia, Russian oil companies on their activity outside Russia, and joint ventures/operators on a variety of regulatory and contractual issues. Prior to joining Clifford Chance, Louis worked as leading legal counsel at the Norwegian oil company Statoil, based from 2010 in Moscow. In this position he supported Statoil’s participation in oil, gas and LNG projects in both Russia and the Middle East. Aside from his legal practice, Louis has authored numerous articles on Eurasian energy market regulation, economics and politics, from 2005 to 2011 as an associate fellow at Chatham House in London, and from 2012 to 2014 as adjunct professor of the New Economic School in Moscow.