Energy Blast – May 7, 2010

Transneft minority shareholder Alexei Navalny has won a court ruling obligating the police to carry out a check into the beneficiaries of the pipeline operator’s billions of rubles in charity donations.  Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has said that given the unexpected nature of Putin’s proposal for a merger, Ukraine may not consider it.   Belarussian Prime Minister Sergey Sidorskiy has said the country’s refineries need to be modernized as quickly as possible.  The Times suggests that Kim Jong II may be ready to reconsider nuclear talks, after his mysterious visit to China.  This article implies that the Gulf of Mexico oil spill may deter Arctic exploration.  The Economist looks at the US’s position relating to the Deepwater issue.  TNK-BP has completed the turnaround of eight processing units at its Ryazan refinery ahead of schedule.   Gazprom has granted Turkey an exemption to their ‘take-or-pay’ contract for this year.  Iraq has announced its third bidding round for rights to develop hydrocarbon deposits.  Electricity of Vietnam is working with Rosatom to build the country’s first nuclear power plant.  Oil has reportedly been discovered in the Falklands, spelling good news for the UK’s tax income from drilling.