Energy Blast – August 21, 2009

Following the hydropower plant disaster, President Medvedev instructed the government ‘to provide uninterrupted energy supply to industrial enterprises, social institutions and the population’. Apparently Rushydro will not raise its prices to offset the cost of repairs.  Russian regions reportedly owe Gazprom in the range of $2 billion for natural gas.  Regions that ‘can pay, should pay‘ says First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov.  Poland’s talks with Russia on gas supplies, planned for the end of August, have been canceled.  No new date has been set as of yet.  Bloomberg suggests this may lead to dramatic gas shortages, as the country needs an extra 2.3 billion cubic meters of gas a year from 2010.  Abu Dhabi National Energy Company TAQA has said that it has made a deal with Gazprom on a joint gas storage project in the Netherlands.  Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has reportedly ordered the government to push forward talks with international banks on a $1.7 billion loan to pay for gas supplies from Russia.  Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has said that apparently Naftogaz and Gazprom are discussing the possibility of reducing the amount of Russian gas to be purchased by Kiev in 2010 by a quarter.