Energy Blast – October 8, 2009

GDF Suez hopes to see talks to join the Nord Stream pipeline concluded by the end of the year.  Statoil Hydro has commented that a drop in gas prices is precipitating a rush among power operators to switch to the fuel, meaning demand is recovering.  The company says that it will not begin oil and gas exploration in protected Arctic zones before the next election in 2013.  Gazprom and Repsol’s possible asset-swapping may include Gazprom inviting the South American company to develop a plant on the Yamal peninsula.  Mikhail Prokhorov has said that the government should use investment funds to improve Russia’a grid system, rather than using it for new power stations.  Gazprom has joined with BP in suggesting that some coal-powered plants be replaced with gasworks, as a means of combating global warming.  Scraping the barrel – the Moscow Times looks at how Ukraine plans to get through this winter.  Finland apparently looks set to give the thumbs up to the Nord Stream project.  Russia has reached an agreement with Turkmenistan on resuming natural gas supplies from the Central Asian country.  How green is Medvedev? (in both senses of the word).