Time to build Russian-US bridges
Former Russian energy minister Igor Yusufov says the new US administration will be a boon for hydrocarbons cooperation
From Moscow's perspective, the Western media's ceaseless fretting about Donald Trump is silly. Igor Yusufov, tells Petroleum Economist, the new regime offers scope for improved international energy dialogue. Yusufov was Russia's energy minister between 2001 and 2004, when he was also chairman of state-owned Rosneft. Now he runs Moscow-based Fund Energy, with assets in Siberia, and is understandably bullish about what a sympathetic stance in the White House might do for his country's energy sector. Yusufov has also known the new Secretary of State—former ExxonMobil boss Rex Tillerson—for 15 years. And he's convinced he'll bring good things for Russian oil and gas. "A person of such profession
Also in this section
13 March 2026
Brussels is again weighing a cap on gas prices amid the Hormuz crisis, but the measure could backfire by deterring the LNG cargoes Europe urgently needs
12 March 2026
Emergency oil stocks provide a last line of defence to oil market shocks, so the IEA’s unprecedented 400m bl release represents something of a double-edged sword
12 March 2026
LPG could rapidly expand access to clean cooking across Africa and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from indoor air pollution each year, but infrastructure shortages and regulatory barriers are slowing investment and market growth
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy
