Energy Blast – August 25, 2009

Lukoil has received a $1.2 billion loan arranged by 12 overseas and domestic banks to refinance debt.  Russia and Mongolia have agreed to start a joint venture to explore the Dornod uranium deposit.  The deal, which may irk the Canadian company licensed to exploit the area, was made possible by a recent Mongolian law to expand state access to uranium deposits.  Siberian power plants will need an additional 6.5 million tons of coal this winter after the accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric plant.  The East Siberian-Pacific Ocean pipeline, to be completed next year, will massively increase the flow of oil from Russia to oil-poor China, says an article in the Moscow Times.  Three Russian oil fields (two of which are split into parts) are on the list of the twenty biggest fields in the world.  The EU has compiled a list of 100 Russian airlines that could be prohibited from flying to EU airports unless they dramatically reduce their carbon emissions.  The Independent looks at the implications of the plunge in North Sea gas prices.