Energy Blast – Dec 16, 2011

Russian oil majors have shaved 1-2 percentage points off the cost of gasoline, they say, due to competition.  The ministry of Yakutia is searching for investors to fund a $1 billion chemical complex that would process natural gas.  The Brazilian prosecutor taking Chevron and Transocean to court over last month’s oil spill wants a permanent ban on the companies’ operations in South America.  As Japan increases purchases to make up for a lack in nuclear capacity and China builds more terminals, Bloomberg wonders whether conditions are right for an LNG trading hub in Asia.  BP and TNK-BP are trying to get the lawsuit against them by Norex Petroleum over alleged stolen assets thrown out.  Gazprom will increase its imports of natural gas from Azerbaijan as of next year.  Environmental campaigners have succeeded in persuading Chiquita to commit to stop using oil from Canadian tar sands in its fuel supplies.