Energy Blast – Jan 20th, 2009

Oil has dropped below $34 a barrel.  Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has ordered changes to this year’s federal budget, drawing up new calculations on an estimated average price of $41 per barrel of crude oil for the year, roughly in line with yesterday’s price prediction from Alexei Kudrin.  Is the Italian Government looking at ways to speed up approval of the Rivara gas storage project, as a means of guarding against future shortages?