Energy Blast – Jan 30, 2012

As part of his election platform, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is calling for Russia to diversify its economy away from oil and gas, acknowledging that dependence on oil revenue is ruinous for stability.  India is searching for ways of paying for Iranian hydrocarbons – its current recourse, amidst U.S. and E.U. sanctions, is the Russian banking system.  Gazprom is preparing to test LNG shipping along the Northern Sea Route to the Asia-Pacific region.  The Iranian oil minister says that oil sales to ‘some countries’ will be halted soon, and says that, despite cuts and sanctions, Iran has a good market for exports.  As part of a bid to restructure its Japanese operations, ExxonMobil will sell 99% of its stake in Yugen Kaisha to TonenGeneral Sekiyu.  Russia’s diamond-mining monopoly Alrosa is selling three stakes in natural gas deposits to Zarubezhneft.