Energy Blast – May 3, 2011

LUKoil has made its first Southeast Asian acquisition, taking a 50% stake in a Vietnamese offshore block (subject to government approval).  Gazprom is preparing to drill its first production well at the Sakhalin-3 project, with production due to start two years ahead of schedule, partly in order to be underway in time for next year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.  This special report looks at China’s ambitious plans to increase nuclear capacity by over six times in the next decade.  For the first time in 20 years, the U.S. has become a net exporter of fuel, exporting more than it purchases on the global market, in part thanks to the high cost of gasoline.