Energy Blast – Dec 1, 2010

Analysts are predicting a Russian energy dispute with Belarus this season, as pricing issues remain unresolved.  More potentially embarrassing WikiLeaks, this time from KazMunaiGaz, who alleged that Gazprom and China National Petroleum Company were circling Kazakh oil consortiums ‘like vultures‘ earlier this year.  A new ‘global cooperation‘ deal between Gazprom and Shell will see the two moving into ‘new markets‘, and could help Gazprom reduce its dependence on European gas sales, analysts say.  The chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has spoken in Cancun on the inadequacy of current scientific research in assessing the global climate situation.  Russia has approved a new budget for Sakhalin-1, although ExxonMobil apparently won $2.7 billion, and not the $3.5 billion it requested.  Gazprom has put an official price on the South Stream pipeline: €15.5 billion.  The Bulgarian Prime Minister says he doubts that the Nabucco pipeline is a high priority for the EU, given the slow pace of construction.