Energy Blast, Dec. 26, 2007

Russia is willing to participate in the construction of a nuclear power plant in Belarus. Russia will raise duties on oil exports by 21%, starting in February. A new pumped storage hydropower station in the Leningrad region, to be completed by HydroOGK by 2016, will be the largest in Europe. Sergei Lavrov says that Russia would freeze its cooperation with Iran on nuclear energy if there was any deviation from agreements currently in place on Bushehr.

Russia has refused to grant ExxonMobil permission to pipe gas from Sakhalin to China.Russia’s anti-monopoly service will permit Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of Gazprom, to buy half of Rosneft’s unit Tomskneft.World Energy NewsJapanese domestic demand for crude oil has risen 10% on last year, causing Nippon Oil Corp. to increase its refined output.In the country’s first ever whitepaper, “China’s Energy Conditions and Policies”, China has promised to develop renewable energy for its fast-growing economy.In “the kind of energy deal that has drawn criticism from the United States,” Iran has signed a multi-billion-dollar gas development contract with Malaysian group SKS.