Energy Blast – June 2, 2010

Russia’s oil output may have decreased slightly in May but it remains close to the record high levels of above ten million barrels a day for the ninth month in a row.  Transneft has seen an increase in profit of 70% in 2009.  Russia’s TVEL and Ukraine’s Energoatom have signed a long-term contract on the delivery of nuclear fuel to Ukrainian nuclear power plants after 2010.  Gazprom and Naftogaz Ukrainy’s planned venture could see them explore an oil and gas field in the Black Sea.  Lithuania’s Energy Minister has argued that the Baltic Nuclear Power Plant, currently being constructed in Kaliningrad, will only be solvent with EU support, and is thus advocating the whole economic integration of the enclave into the EU.  Oil trader Trafigura is in the dock in the Netherlands for allegedly exporting toxic waste and dumping it in the Ivory Coast.  BP has lost $21.1 billion of its market value as its ‘top kill’ strategy fails.  Since the spill is poisoning the image of oil majors, shouldn’t renewable energy be gaining interest?  The Economist explains why it isn’t.  The head of Russia’s Environmental Control Agency claims that Russia has a ‘zero spills‘ policy for companies operating on its shelf, but laments that the country lacks readiness in the event of an emergency.  Is Turkmenistan’s new $2 billion pipeline a risky investment, given that the energy market has gone crazy for ‘frac’?