Energy Blast, Feb. 7, 2008

Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom will sign a deal to buy the entire annual gas output from the Sakhalin-1 field of U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil in April-May. Gazprom has booked the band Deep Purple to fly from the UK to Moscow to perform at a special concert celebrating the 15th anniversary of the utility, as a “thank-you to Dmitry Medvedev, who steps down as Gazprom chairman next month.” As a “farewell gift” to the company, Medvedev has committed state bodies to accelerate Gazprom’s access to the Chayanda field of Yakutia. Sibir Energy, a Gazprom subsidiary, has announced that it increased oil production in 2007 by 80% as output increased at the Salym field in western Siberia where it partners Royal Dutch Shell. Russia plans to sell at least two of four large minerals deposits, including the Sukhoi Log gold and Udokan copper fields and the Sakhalin-3 oil and gas field, later this year. “Exxon Mobil Corporation’s technology leadership has resulted in another world record-setting well at the Sakhalin-1 oil project in eastern Russia, enabling the production of more energy while reducing the impact on the environment.”

World EnergyNew research from Goldman Sachs suggests that vulnerable regions of the world face the risk of famine over the next three years as rising energy costs spill over into a food crunch.“An attempt by France and Germany to prevent the break-up of their big energy companies has been rebuffed in a key test of Brussels’ commitment to liberalisation.”Kazakhstan may annul energy and mining contracts with foreign and domestic companies after government agencies discovered contractual violations last year. The country, which is the biggest oil producer in the former Soviet Union after Russia, plans to increase oil output 3.7 percent this year.ONGC Mittal Energy, a joint venture between India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp and Mittal Investments Sarl, is eyeing opportunities in exploration and production in Iraq. Poland’s top refiner PKN is in talks to jointly buy an exploration firm that has a licence to seek oil in the Baltic Sea off the Latvian coast. Kuwait plans to spend $51bn over the next five years upgrading its energy sector which generates 95% of its revenue.