Energy Blast – Sept 10, 2010

An article in the Kyiv Post criticizes the news that Russian-state-owned TVEL (an arm of Rosatom) has won a ‘competitive evaluation‘ against Westinghouse to build Ukraine’s first nuclear fuel source, suggesting that the move will allow Russia to monopolize Ukraine’s nuclear fuel supply.  This article accuses Russia of trying to ‘tie up supplies of gas that would feed the [EU-backed Nabucco] pipeline‘ with a gas deal signed with Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz earlier this month: ‘Given that it costs more for Gazprom to import Azeri gas than for the Russian firm to produce its own gas at home, analysts say this deal is almost certainly part of efforts by the Kremlin to kill off the EU’s Nabucco pipeline.‘  Germany has formally protested against Poland’s plan to build a liquefied gas terminal in a Baltic port, apparently over environmental concerns.  Iran’s plan to increase petrol production is ‘tacit confirmation that tighter international sanctions over its nuclear programme have affected supplies‘, says the FT.