Energy Blast – Jan 13, 2012

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has apparently failed to garner Chinese support for sanctions against Iran, as tensions over its nuclear program mount.  Russia remains one of the least safe countries in terms of nuclear security, says the Nuclear Threat Initiative index, which ranked Russia 24th out of the 32 countries that possess more than 1 kilogram of weapons-grade radioactive material.  Sergei Kupriyanov, an official representative of Gazprom, has stated that Ukraine cannot cut in half the amount of gas it is contracted to purchase from the Russian energy giant.  Kiev is apparently using natural-gas volumes taken from underground storage to replace imports from Russia.  Bashneft is negotiating the formation of a consortium to develop Iraqi oil fields, says Bloomberg.  Oil and Gas Eurasia considers why corruption in Poland’s shale gas sector is unsurprising.  Austrian energy giant OMV has recorded an increase of oil production in Libya to 60% of the pre-war level, up from 30% in November.