Energy Blast – July 12, 2011

RFE/RL has an in-depth piece examining Russia and Germany’s special energy friendship, including a section on Gazprom’s German activities, and the Kremlin’s bid to stop the Nabucco pipeline.  Gazprom insists that shale gas produced in Europe won’t constitute real competition, and that it will be much more expensive than its U.S. counterpart.  Meanwhile, the shale gas market in Poland is taking off as global players seek to invest in what could be Europe’s largest reserves; the change could assist the country in establishing energy security.  Is the Russian Energy Ministry ‘frightened’ by the country’s lack of gasoline reserves?  Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych is talking about dividing Naftogaz into smaller entities ‘so that they can develop independently and create real market mechanisms for development’.  It is thought that Jayanthi Natarajan, India’s new environment minister, will be less strict about green standards than her predecessor.  A deal on flared gas at Iraqi oilfields for Shell.