At Medvedev’s meeting with with the presidents of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan, he emphasized the importance of energy projects as that which ‘really helps governments that need to strengthen their economy’. Timan Oil has announced that tycoon Vitaly Belik has taken control with a 57% stake. Vladimir Putin has signed a resolution to expedite the construction of a number of energy plans in the Far East. Putin has suggested that by 2020 the region may be producing 150 billion cubic meters of gas. As Putin inaugurates a new gas link to the Pacific, which Bloomberg suggests may damage Exxon Mobil’s ambitions in the region, it is expected that the Russian Prime Minister will put pressure on the US giant to sell inexpensive gas from Sakhalin. Shell has announced mass redundancies. Russia and South Korea are reportedly considering the construction of a gas pipeline across North Korea. Bulgaria may scrap its plans for the construction of $5.5 billion nuclear power station. There is a feature in Reuters on how the possibility of unrest in Georgia may imperil the transportation of 800,000 barrels of crude oil each day.