Energy Blast – Jan 3, 2011

The New York Times reports that Russia’s oil output rose by 2.2% in 2010 to a record-breaking 10.1 million barrels per day as higher prices prompted an increase in production.  Meanwhile natural gas output increased by 11.5 % in 2010, and coal output by 6.5%.  ‘Oil demand increasing at almost twice the pace of supply is spurring the most-accurate forecasters to predict the second-highest price on record in 2011′.  A Reuters analysis considers presents the factors that could curtail this increase.  CNN has a video report on the newly-operating China-Russia oil pipeline.