Energy Blast – Feb 10th, 2009

Oil majors LUKoil, Rosneft and TNK-BP have, in previous years, donated a combined $1.5 billion per year to charitable causes, but as companies slash their charity budgets to cope with the effects of the financial crisis, the philanthropic community is in doubt about forthcoming funds.  The Sakhalin project is forecasting its first shipment of liquefied natural gas to Japan for March 2009.  Ukraine’s government has reportedly discussed a $5 billion loan with Russia to help cover its budget deficit, to the displeasure of President Viktor Yushchenko who is still threatening that Russia will be held to account for the ‘exorbitant price’ of its ‘prejudicial’ gas deal with Ukraine earlier this year.  ‘Chevron, BP and other oil producers are locked into drilling offshore wells that cost as much as $200 million each because of rig contracts that were signed when crude was soaring above $140 a barrel.’