The Russian government has revised its forecast for how much gas Gazprom will export this year, reducing it by 5%, taking into account stiff competition from Qatar and Norway.  Read in the FT a discussion of how oil prices significantly influence investors’ interest in Russia.   Turkmenistan has started work on a $2 billion 1000-kilometer gas pipeline that aims to bolster its export capacity and increase its presence in the global gas market.  China has agreed on a $23 billion deal with Goodluck Jonathan’s new government in Nigeria to build three oil refineries and a petrochemical plant.  Apparently BP received permission to drill in the Gulf of Mexico on the basis that it could cope with a spill ten times the size of its current one.  A report from the UN Atomic Agency released yesterday suggests that Iran has stockpiled more than two tons of enriched uranium, stimulating existing concerns about the nature of its nuclear ambitions.