Energy Blast – May 29, 2008

Russia, Canada, Greenland, Denmark, Norway and the US, which border the potentially energy-rich Arctic Ocean, have met in Greenland in an attempt to head off a new “gold rush” in the high north. The UN is set to rule on the arctic seabed’s ownership, but nonetheless, the Arctic nations have been accused of paving the way for a polar “carve up“. Talks between Gazprom and SUEK on merging their power and coal assets have come to a halt. “One by one, countries across Asia and the Middle East are being forced to abandon price controls on fuel and energy, bringing hundreds of millions of consumers face to face with the true market cost of oil.” The European Parliament’s petitions committee, PETI, believes that the current planned route of Gazprom’s Nord Stream gas pipeline is a threat to the environment, and has asked the company to consider changing its plans. Some experts believe that natural gas “could be subject to the same explosion in overseas demand that has made oil so expensive.”