Energy Blast – Nov 6, 2009

Apparently U.N. inspectors have found ‘nothing to be worried about‘ upon their first examination of the formerly clandestine uranium enrichment site in Qom in Iran.  ‘The [Obama] administration must consider whether it makes sense to grant the regime two more months of grace’ says an op-ed in the Washington Post.  ‘Prospects for a breakthrough with Iran have narrowed dramatically since a high-level meeting in Geneva on Oct. 1′, the paper adds, quoting a senior European diplomat.  Good news for Nord Stream – after considerable environmental concerns, it has received approval from both Finland and Sweden.  The construction of the Russia-Germany pipeline could spell the demise of Ukraine as a transit country, suggests the Wall Street Journal.   Lukoil has lost out on initial rights to develop Iraq’s much-coveted West Qurna field, with an an Exxon Mobil-led consortium pipping it to the post.  Novatek is hoping to get a gas supply deal with Inter RAO off the ground, which would mean Gazprom’s purchases from Inter decreasing to a negligible amount.  Lukoil intends to add storage capacity for oil products in the Persian Gulf and Asia hoping that in those markets demand for fuels will recover.  Power problems in Venezuela, from the Economist.