Energy Blast – May 10, 2011

Monday will mark the cut-off point for the proposed deal between TNK-BP and Rosneft: ‘a week of frantic debate is expected‘, and ‘[o]ne key worry is whether Rosneft may now want to renegotiate the terms of the share swap part of the deal.‘  Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, construction of which is being overseen by Russia’s Atomstroyexport, is expected to start producing electricity in July.  Construction on the Nabucco pipeline has been delayed for another year, as the EU has not yet lined up any gas supply contracts: ‘Analysts said the latest delay will further undermine confidence in the viability of Nabucco, which is already facing soaring costs well beyond the initial €7.9 billion, or $11 billion, estimate.‘  The Economist writes on Lithuania’s concerns about a Russian-financed nuclear power plant being constructed on its borders in Kaliningrad, as well as two further plants proposed in Belarus.  ‘Environmental hysteria about nuclear power is matched by green delusions about renewable energy,‘ says the FT.  Reuters compares coal and LNG emissions.