Energy Blast – March 26, 2010

Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov is calling for his country to ‘forget‘ the past five years of relations with Russia, ‘turn the page and start from a clean slate‘ in order to revise the gas contract between the two.  Ukraine is offering Russia a share in running part of a natural gas pipeline on its territory.  Oil exports from East Siberia will stay duty-free for another year, though if the tax is implemented next year, it could cost the major oil companies a total of $2 billion.  Rosatom and the International Atomic Energy Agency are working on an agreement towards the creation of an international nuclear fuel reserve bank.  New analysis suggests that China is now the leader in renewable energy technology investing, surpassing the US.