Energy Blast – Feb 28, 2011

Lukoil claims that has not decreased oil output in Egypt despite political turbulence in the country; Russia’s no. 2 oil producer hopes to fully replace its reserves over the medium term and is looking to acquire new assets to achieve this, including in the Middle East.  Saudi Arabia has raised oil output by about 8% to compensate for the depletion in Libyan exports.  Why an oil shock will hurt the developed world worst of all, from Reuters.  The failure of BP shareholders to attend the board meeting of its Russian venture, TNK-BP, has won them accusations of ‘sabotage’.  The Russian venture has jettisoned BP’s trademark eco-friendly colors on its website instead choosing a ‘dark, severe Siberian theme’, a move apparently designed to give the company distance on memories of the Gulf of Mexico spill.  Bangladesh has signed a deal with Russia to set up the country’s first nuclear power plant to generate 2,000 megawatts of electricity, at a cost of around $2 billion, Reuters reports.  The Independent looks at fears that the destroyed nuclear reactor at Chernobyl could collapse and leak deadly radiation.  Iran has apparently encountered a ‘serious problem’ at its newly completed Bushehr nuclear reactor.