Energy Blast – May 16, 2008

First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov will become the next chairman of Gazprom. The company is taking a major step into the North American market, having agreed to become a partner in the Rabaska liquefied natural gas terminal in Quebec. Alexei Navalny, political activist and minor shareholder in three of Russia’s top oil producers has called for more transparency in their deals with “secretive” oil trader Gunvor. This article gives a detailed account of the Tetlis lawsuit being filed against TNK-BP. Mikhail Fridman’s Alfa Group has denied any connection with Tetlis. If the EU is concerned about Russia’s gas control, it should concentrate on “building a well-functioning internal gas market”, says the Moscow Times. One of the backers for a strategically important hydrocarbon project whose license was pulled by Yulia Tymoshenko earlier this week has come forward. “Rather than oil harming the global economy, it is global expansion that is driving up the price of oil.”