http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-05-21/russia-and-china-finally-sign-400-billion-holy-grail-gas-deal
Well, it is done. Now we'll see how it works.
$13.33B is not what I would call a Holy Grail, what follows on to it will be more important than merely this deal. Time will tell.
Yeah "Holy Grail" its not . It won't cure anything. But it is one more link in building a "viable alternative to the dollar" for Russia and China, and for building a relationship that may allow them to work jointly on that endeavor. Its not the destination, but a significant milestone on the path.
update: did some additional research - and it hard to find numbers that agree on how much Nat Gas China imports.. but this deal is big enough to cover ALL OF THEIR IMPORTS - even for the largest numbers ( range was 16-40 bcm a year) and if the deal is structured to let them buy more, they very well might as their needs grow.
Now they know where they'll make up for the loss of income from squeezing the Europeans.
The Euro's really have their berries in the vise more than the US because of this...if they had big berries they'd exploit all other fossil fuel alternatives for heating needs...but they are more beholden to eco-whackjobs than we are, so kiss that idea goodbye...
At least gas had the "clean fuel" label they could hide behind...not so other carbon-based fuels...and no way does alternative energy make enough inroads, just from an affordability standpoint as much as anything...but you watch, they'll be plowing billions into green stuff like there is no tomorrow...and in the end the cost/benefit just won't be there...Europe could de-populate itself in our lifetime...
