Energy Blast – Jan 8, 2010

Gazprom has confirmed that it has received payment from Ukraine for its hefty December gas bill.  Apparently Russia and Belarus have not managed to come to an agreement after their second day of talks to resolve an oil-duty dispute.  The Belarussian delegation is reportedly returning to Belarus for ‘consultations‘.  Poland may decrease natural gas supplies to its industrial clients depending on whether Russia slashes fuel imports and the extent of the cold snap.  A Gornictwo gas company spokesperson has said that despite the current high amounts of gas flowing from Russia to Poland, the fact that a new contract has not been agreed remains worrying.  Some British factories have had to introduce gas rationing as British Gas struggles with skyrocketing demand across the frozen nation.  An article in the Economist explains why it is time to get tough on Iran.  The Russia-China-Iran ‘energy nexus’ and how it is apparently undermining US policy in Iran is described here.  The FT looks at why sanctions on Iran regarding weapons and energy could prove costly to Russia and China respectively.