Energy Blast – June 18, 2012

Headed by EU Foreign Policy Chief, Catherine Ashton, the latest round of talks between Iran and six world powers over Tehran’s nuclear program has begun in Moscow.  ‘Consequences of failure could be devastating‘, says Reuters.  Apparently President Ahmadinejad has hinted that Iran may cease high-grade uranium enrichment, ‘if European countries provided 20% enriched fuel for Iran’.  Russian oil companies are to face hugely increased facing fines for gas flaring.  Rosneft and ExxonMobil have signed a deal on joint development of Western Siberia’s substantial tight oil resources, which cannot be extracted by conventional drilling methods.  President Putin has instructed Rosneft chief executive Igor Sechin to increase the company’s dividends.  Controversial former Russian energy minister Igor Yusufov is apparently the sole bidder for Britain’s bankrupt Coryton refinery, where 900 jobs are at stake.  The Telegraph reports on a production cap dispute within OPEC.  Coal-devouring Poland has reportedly thwarted an EU plan to introduce a CO2 emissions cutting directive.