Energy Blast – Aug 15, 2011

Russia hopes to resume talks with its nuclear partner Iran this week, with analysts speculating that Iran will seek to persuade Russia of its right to enrichment.  According to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant will launch according to schedule.  Unhappy with the pace of investment, Iran is threatening to take back control of the South Pars gas field which is currently under development by China National Petroleum.  Turkey will get its first nuclear power plant with the help of a Russian company set up especially for the job.  Rosatom’s floating nuclear power station, currently under construction at the Baltiisky Zavod, was seized by a court as the result of an ownership dispute.  North Korea says that the Russian President is seeking its cooperation on the construction of a gas pipeline through its territory to South Korea.  The AAR consortium, consisting of the Russian shareholders in TNK-BP, has filed a suit in Stockholm alleging that BP has breached its shareholder agreement – and seeking compensation of $10 billion.  The New York Times reports on German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to shut down her country’s nuclear power plants.  Both BP and GDF Suez are putting their North Sea gas stakes up for sale.