Amy Myers Jaffe Examines Ukraine Crisis with Energy Focus

In a column for the Fuel Fix website, Amy Myers Jaffe looked at the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis from the perspective of how reveals Russia's challenges in the energy sphere, and how the crisis could benefit U.S. energy companies. In "Russia and Ukraine -- the Energy Angle," she writes,

Russia relies heavily on oil and gas for its national budget and has been under pressure from the prospects of increased competition. So far, that competitive pressure is limited to the natural gas side but prospects that either Iraq or shale oil could uptick in the coming years pose a long term threat as well. When Putin analyzes who to back in the Middle East, he most certainly needs conflict to stifle oil and gas production expansion there. Mideast conflict is also good for Moscow’s budget woes.

 Jaffe is the Executive Director for Energy and Sustainability at the University of California, Davis, with affiliation at the Graduate School of Management and the Institute of Transportation Studies.