Energy Blast – May 23, 2012

The director of the UN nuclear watchdog, Yukiya Amano, has told the press that he expects to sign a deal with Iran to facilitate investigation into suspected work on atom bombs, ‘soon’.  President Putin has signed a decree adding four key energy companies and Rosneft to the list of Russian strategic enterprises that will, most likely, not be privatized.  Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of Russia’s gas export monopoly has seen first-quarter profit rise 21% on higher crude prices.  Gazprom has apparently cut gas production targets for 2013 and 2014 due to falling demand.  Despite a de facto ejection from the project, oil company Bashneft apparently still hopes that it will try to continue to work with Lukoil on the Trebs and Titov oil-field complex.  TNK-BP reportedly plans to increase its 2011 dividend by an unexpectedly high 12% to $6.6 billion.