Energy Blast – June 15, 2009

One of the biggest paper mills in Russia has raised approximately $2.1 billion in the past six years as a reward for following the Kyoto agreement to reduce its carbon dioxide, but it has not seen a penny, says the Moscow Times.  Surgutneftegaz has requested a Hungarian court to see that all resolutions made in a meeting in April by shareholders of MOL, Hungary’s largest refiner, be thrown out.   Lukoil plans to extend its operations in Kazakhstan, which is considered a ‘priority’.  The country is urging foreign companies to invest more profits locally.  The Times reports upon how an oil economy is particularly adept at stifling political reform.  This month will reveal which oil majors will have won the chance to work in Iraq for a ‘once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’ to explore the country’s fields.  Reuters has a question and answer on Russia’s oil and mining sector.  Russia will accept a 17% stake in Canadian mining company Uranium One Inc. in exchange for half of the Karatau deposit in Kazakhstan.  Qatar is in talks with Royal Dutch Shell, one of its biggest investors, to invest in oil and gas outside the country.   The Independent analyzes how OPEC will control the future of the oil industry.