Russia’s gas export chief, Alexander Medvedev, says that he will not take part in talks between Russia and China regarding a long-term gas deal between the two, spurring anticipation that a deal will not be reached during Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s visit. An analyst talks to the BBC about price as a major obstacle. The Moscow Times reports that Gazprom Neft has been ousted from an Iranian oil project, and this version of events is also supported here; other sources suggest that it was Russia’s decision to scrap the deal. On the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s $5.4 billion expansion project to double its crude output. Lukoil plans to increase spending to $10 billion this year, with plans to develop projects in Iraq and Uzbekistan. China Petrochemical Corp has agreed to buy Canada’s Daylight Energy for $2.1 billion. Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has been convicted of having exceeded her powers in overseeing the 2009 deal between Russia and Naftogaz, and may be sentenced to seven years in jail. ‘You know very well that the sentence is not being pronounced by Judge Kireyev but by President Yanukovich,’ she said.