The last-minute deal between Russia and Ukraine to restore gas supplies “appears to be little more than a temporary bandage.” Gazprom may choose to buy a minority stake in one of five Italian power assets run by electricity company Enel in exchange for joint development of its domestic gas fields. Enel is willing to sell or swap assets in Italy for a maximum value of $200 million. Italy’s oil and gas giant Eni, together with Enel, plans to launch natural gas production at deposits in northwest Siberia in early 2010. The construction of the second stage of an oil pipeline being built from East Siberia to the Pacific Ocean could begin in 2009. The East Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline project is set to pump up to 1.6 million barrels of crude per day from Siberia to Russia’s Far East and then on to China and the Asia-Pacific region.