Energy Blast – July 20, 2011

‘Don’t you have any doubts, we have enough gas’: the message conveyed to Europe at President Medvedev’s meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel after the 13th round of German-Russian interstate consultations.  Chancellor Merkel stated that as a result of its ban on atomic energy, Germany may increase imports of Russian gas.  The energy companies of both countries, German Siemens AG and Russian IDGC Holding as well as the Russian-German Energy Agency agreed to implement joint energy efficiency programs.  Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov has expressed his desire for Russian participation in the upgrading of the Ukrainian gas transportation system.  Amid fears over nuclear safety, a new EU agreement means that radioactive waste from Europe’s 143 nuclear reactors must in future be buried in secure bunkers, as opposed to spending cooling time in surface storage.  With a deal with Chevron to be secured over the next few days, Bulgaria’s government is vaunting the virtues of shale gas, despite mounting ecological concerns.