Energy Blast – Feb 6th, 2009

Rosatom says Russia is planning to start up a nuclear reactor at Iran’s Bushehr plant by the end of the year, in accordance with the project’s original timetable.  Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov says he wants to help accelerate construction of the South Stream and Nabucco gas pipelines to prevent further EU shortages, and has signed an agreement with Russia to speed up work on the former.  Finland could back the Nord Stream pipeline project.  Read a round-up of Russia’s claims on the Arctic seabed.  The Federal Anti-Monopoly Service is to open cases against 251 companies that sell refined oil products in Russia because of ‘intolerably high’ prices for gasoline.  Spanish oil firm Repsol has announced that a consortium in which it holds a 12 percent stake discovered a potentially promising oil field in the Gulf of Mexico.