Energy Blast – Jan 13th, 2009

Germany’s RWE has agreed to buy Dutch utility Essent for €9.3 billion ($12.5 billion) including debt, in a bid to become a competitor for E.ON, but the news sent its share price down, with analysts suggesting that the deal was overpriced.  India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp is planning to invest over $600 million developing Imperial Energy’s assets.  The price of crude oil is continuing to fall on weaker demand, but industry costs, at long last, are also beginning to fall.  Even after gas supplies from Russia have been safely resumed, RWE Transgas, the Czech trader, says it will take about 48 hours to receive gas from Gazprom once service is restored; and Poland’s PGNiG forecasts 24 hours.