Energy Blast, Jan. 9, 2008

Russian stocks rose on the first trading day of the year, led by Gazpromas investors bet that the leading candidate in the country’s presidential race will support the natural-gas industry if he takes office.” Shell’s chief officer has commented on the company’s sale of its stake in the Sakhalin-2 project to Gazprom. “What we have learned from this is that you can only work with large Russian partners in Russia.” “BP and Shell have been surpassed by Gazprom and PetroChina.” Oil supermajors now represent just 23% of the global sector’s total market capitalisation.

World EnergyShell could take a stake in an Iraqi gas field close to the Syrian border after the Iraqi government asked the company to conduct tests there.Dong Energy, Denmark’s largest energy company, has announced plans to launch an initial public offering that could value it at more than $12bn.The Pakistani Cabinet has approved the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline agreement.Norway’s StatoilHydro projects that its oil and gas production will grow to 2.2 million barrels of oil equivalents per day in 2012, a 16% rise over four years.