Energy Blast – Nov 5, 2010

Deputy U.S. Energy Secretary Daniel Poneman has reportedly said that the US hopes that talks with Iran over its nuclear program will resume imminently.  ‘A culture of corruption’, meant bribes were paid on behalf of Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s Nigerian unit, Panalpina World Transport Holding Ltd. told a U.S. court yesterday, after five oil services paid $236.5 million to settle anti-bribery lawsuits.  OPEC has upped estimates for global oil demand through to 2014 on growth in Asia, and predicted that alternative supplies will curb the world’s desire for crude.  Or not?  An Associated Press report highlights how demand for crude is pushing companies to explore in increasingly hostile territories, both politically and geologically speaking.  These figures suggest a blow for green power.  The fate of one Czech town demonstrates the hazards of uranium mining, in the New York Times.  The European Commissioner Guenther Oettinger has announced that the new gas agreement between Poland and Russia, which put an end to a four-year impasse on energy supplies, is compliant with EU legislation.