Energy Blast – July 22, 2011

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad apparently appreciates Russia’s proposals for recommencing dialogue with Tehran over its nuclear program.  The International Energy Agency will stop selling oil from its emergency reserves because its objective of replacing the 1m barrels per day lost from conflict-hit Libya has been achieved.  On the return of BP’s woes: the AAR consortium, having blocked the British major’s planned Rosneft Arctic deal, now claim the that debacle cost TNK-BP $5-10 billion in lost opportunities, which must be recompensed.  Russia’s second largest oil producer, Lukoil has announced the purchase of a 49% stake in an offshore block in Sierra Leone, as the company works on its portfolio of African oil assets.  Could Russia could be seeing a new LNG customer in the form of Bahrain?  According to this report, Russia plans to take Bulgaria to court over prevarication on the building of the Belene nuclear power plant, the first in the EU that would be fully reliant on Russian technology.  Gazprom Neft has welcomed tax breaks for fields in the Yamal-Nenets region which they say will help save about $4.68 billion over a 10-year period.