Turkey's highest court has reversed the decision to have Atomstroyexport build its first nuclear power plant, due to allegations of unfairly high prices issued by the Russian company, and concerns about energy dependency.  Russia will give Belarus a 30-40% discount on natural gas prices, as compared with what its neighbors pay.  Japan's Chubu Electric Power Co. has purchased at least 200,000 metric tons of coal from Russia's Siberian Energy, in a bid to reduce reliance on Australian imports.  TNK-BP outlines the thinking behind some of its strategies, including branding and retail.  Gazprom has asked the government to intervene in a dispute over unexpectedly high custom duties could cost it $13.17 billion into 2010.  A Naftogaz delegation is in Moscow to sign new agreements with Gazprom that will exclude the possibility of fines for Ukraine.  India's Reliance ...

The President of Russia’s Gas Union insists that the financial crisis will have no effect on the country’s major natural gas pipelines. Will OPEC respond to the drop in oil prices with a cut in production? Likely so, says The Economist. The President of South Korea has urged his population to reduce their energy consumption in order to protect the economy from the effects of the global crisis. Will Kazakhstan’s national oil fund save its economy? Ukraine's energy ministry has approved a tender from Russia’s Atomstroyexport to construct a nuclear power plant.

As part of an apparent Russian push for African energy resources, Gazprom has signed an oil and gas exploration agreement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. Alaskan governor Sarah Palin says that US reliance on imported oil poses a national security risk. Dick Cheney says the US intends to work with countries in the Caucasus region as a means of developing energy security. “Cheney and Putin deserve each other. At bottom, both men are backward-looking holdovers from the past.” Nuclear services monopoly Atomstroyexport has begun building a new power plant in Bulgaria. Rosneft’s plans to delay the opening of a new field could contribute to an overall decline in Russian oil output this year. Russia will need investment if it is to keep up with growing electricity demand.