Ross Hendin, CFP contributor and Principal of Hendin Consultants, below adds an article on international intrigue in Ignalina,assessing political risk, a revised cold war and nuclear power in the Baltics:

Nord Stream is a Swiss-based pipeline joint venture, designed to safely and efficiently provide the German energy market Russian natural gas through a dedicated pipeline that would run under the Baltic Sea (through Swedish, Danish and Finnish waters). Critics feel that this project is a geo-political play, designed to circumvent the Baltics (which are the states that Russia currently sends gas through to go to the European market) while at the same time creating an over-supply of Russian gas in the German / Western European market.

An article in Utility Week reports that one of the partners in Nord Stream, German energy company Eon, will sell a portion of its stake in the venture to France’s newly-merged power utility GDF-Suez. The other owners of Nord Stream are Russia’s Gazprom, which owns 51 per cent, Wintershall Holding, the gas arm of German chemicals group BASF, which owns 20 per cent, and Nederlandse Gasunie, which owns 9 per cent. This sale is actually perhaps the most critically important piece of the Ignalina puzzle right now, but the reasons behind that are not the focus of today’s post.

As it currently stands, the gas that goes from Russia to the western European market has to transit through central and eastern Europe. This means that countries such as Lithuania and the Ukraine have gas pipelines on their soil, and as a result have a limited element of energy security – even if Russia were to try and cut off their heat or power, they would be able to tap into western-bound gas and survive. Russia, has a habit of exporting foreign policy with gas, and has been known to turn off the gas supply to states that it wants to pressure. Critics feel that Nord Stream is a tool to do just that – run gas directly to the western markets so that Russia can turn off the taps to the transit states whenever it wants.

Nord Stream is a key reason why Lithuania and the Baltics need a source of energy that they can control.
When Nord Stream comes on-line, if the Baltics don’t have their own power supply, or if Rosatom does build a nuclear power plant in Belarus, the Baltics will find that their gas and nuclear power come from Russia – a group who has historically been ready to stop power supply to apply political pressure.

All of a sudden, you can see another reason why a US visit to Lithuania may be more than just a routine stop to discuss superficial issues. But don’t take my word for it, take the word of Representatives Shelley Berkley (Democrat-Nevada) and Phil Gingrey (Republican-Georgia). The quote below is taken from this RFE / RL interview, published April 17th, 2009:

“We are very concerned about Russia’s reassertion of strength in countries that were part of the former Soviet Union. It is very disturbing to us. We do not believe in spheres of influence, you know, we give to Russia this country and they give to us that country, those days should be gone forever and we believe they are gone forever.We also have a fundamental problem with the fact that Russia is using energy as a weapon. That is incompatible with democracies and free people. If you have countries that are solely dependent on Russia for their oil supplies, their energy supplies, their gas supplies, that can create a very serious problem, especially during an economic downturn.”

Ross Hendin is a CFP contributor and Principal of Hendin Consultants, and is a Senior Advisor to the Canadian office of a leading multi-national PR firm. With strategic communication experience in more than 20 countries around the world, Ross specializes in complex and high-stakes communication and marketing strategies in a number of industries, including energy. Hendin Consultants is in Toronto and London, UK, and is on the web at www.hendinconsultants.com. Email Ross at ross@hendinconsultants.com.