Gazprom has expressed an interest in acquiring a U.S. shale-gas producer, to access the know-how to develop similar resources domestically, says the Moscow Times.  GDF Suez has said it has discussed a 10-20% increase in its Russian gas supply with Gazprom, as part of broader negotiations to usher the French company into the Nord Stream gas project.  Electricite de France may acquire a stake in Gazprom's South Stream pipeline to supply its increasing number of power plants.  Turkey's government has apparently approved geological exploration work for South Stream in its Black Sea economic zone.  The partnership behind the Nabucco pipeline project is, says Bloomberg, 'confident' it will have enough fuel, including gas from the Azeri Shah Deniz field.  Russian oil and petrochemical exporters reported a 45% decrease in revenue in the first nine months of 2009 to ...

Ampal-American Israel Corp. is a holding company focused on acquired interests in energy and related businesses in the State of Israel or those businesses deemed Israel-related. The company has a 12.5 percent interest in East Mediterranean Gas Co. (EMC), which yesterday informed Ampal that it has secured three 18-year Gas Sale Agreements valued at $1.3 billion.

These announced agreements are in addition to three previous gas sale agreements between EMG and the Israeli Electric Company, Dorad Energy Ltd., and Nesher.

“The signing of the three agreements by EMG, as well as EMG’s active and ongoing negotiations with other potential customers, including electricity producers and industrial companies, buttresses our view that EMG’s gas supply is stable and reliable and, we believe, demonstrates that the energy market in Israel, as well as the financing sources for these projects, believe in the reliability and competitiveness of EMG’s gas,” Yosef A. Maiman, chairman, president and

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Industrial gases and specialty chemical company, Air Products and Chemicals Inc. (APD) has forayed into the Chinese liquefied natural gas market (LNG) by signing an agreement with Technip to supply Air Products’ LNG process technology and equipment for an LNG project in Yinchuan, China. Technip is a world leader in project management, engineering and construction for the oil & gas industry.  Air Products’ technology will be vital for Technip’s two liquefaction trains each producing 400,000 tons of LNG per annum for Ningxia Hanas Natural Gas Company, Ltd. Ningxia Hanas, formerly known as Yinchuan Natural Gas Company, is mainly engaged in city gas, gas supply to industrial and commercial users, gas heating, gas-fired power generation, gas-fired cogeneration, and environment protection. The units are targeted to be completed in the second half of 2011.  Other terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Air Products has also signed a ...

On Oct 1, 2009, the North California Utilities Commission (NCUC) approved Progress Energy Carolinas' plan to build new a natural gas-fueled power generation plant in Wayne County. The commission approved a certificate of public convenience and necessity for Progress Energy Carolinas' proposed 950-megawatt (MW) combined-cycle power plant, with a projected investment of about $900 million.  Raleigh, North Carolina-based Progress Energy Inc. (PGN) is engaged in both regulated electric operations (in southeastern US) and unregulated businesses, which include competitive power generation, energy marketing and trading, natural gas exploration and production, and synthetic coal production.  Progress plans to build the Wayne County plant near the HF Lee coal-fired facility located on the Neuse River in Wayne County near Goldsboro. Once the new plant becomes functional in 2013, the company plans to retire the three coal units at Lee, which entered service in 1950s and 1960s.  The natural gas-fueled ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – September 18, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Capital One (COF), American Express (AXP), The Dress Barn Inc. (DBRN), Tween Brands Inc. (TWB) and PetroChina (PTR).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

Initial Claims Drop Again

So what are people supposed to do when they have no job and their unemployent benefits have run out? Well, the best thing that could happen, obviously, would be for them to get a new job. However, businesses are simply not hiring.

That

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Consumers Energy, the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy (CMS), upgraded its natural gas facilities near Dewitt, Michigan. It has spent around $15 million to install a new 2.1 mile 20-inch natural gas line. The company has also set up a new system station near Dewitt and renovated the Lansing and Dewitt city gate stations, which checks gas line pressure in the region.   This move is a part of the "Growing Forward" initiative, under which Consumers Energy plans to invest in excess of $6 billion over the next five years in its utility operations. This will ensure reliable and cost-efficient gas supply to around 1.7 million customers in Lower Peninsula, Michigan and cope with growing energy needs of the region. Consumers Energy has one of the largest underground natural gas storage facilities in the U.S.   Shares of CMS Energy closed at $13.36 on Thursday, trading at ...

A few days ago the Russian mainstream media were talking about all the agreements reached with Turkey during the most recent visit of the Prime Minister, hailing the accords as the latest Putinite achievement. Supposedly positive but vague results were achieved with respect to negotiations on the construction of the South Stream and Blue Stream gas pipelines; on the Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline, as well as the construction of nuclear power stations. In covering the Turkey visit, they showed the joy of Turkish and Italian prime ministers in signing these deals, and the unintelligible babble of the Russian one, who was able to clearly express a thought about how the Turks - are "difficult negotiators."

But so many gas pipelines -

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Russia may have sidestepped greenhouse gas emission cuts at the G8 summit, but Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin has pledged a Russian 'energy revolution' when the State Duma consider a bill to increase energy efficiency by 40% by 2020.  A transit deal for the Nabucco pipeline is to be signed next week but according to analysts, 'the major obstacles to Nabucco still stand and supply is number one'.  Reuters has a Q and A on what to expect from the Nabucco deal.  The European Commission has tempered demands for powers to coordinate gas flows across the union in the event of a gas cut off.  The European Commission will declare a 'Community Emergency' if the EU loses more than 10% of its gas supply.  Venezuela's Oil Minister has said that the country is making progress towards developing ...

A wave of government bailouts around the world and a sharp deterioration in existing infrastructure could lead to as much as $35 trillion in public works spending over the next 20 years, according to a new study by CIBC World Markets.

The study, released last week, says that many of the countries that balanced their budgets over the past 10 years did so by skimping on the construction costs for new public assets and the maintenance of existing buildings and roads, CBC reported.

“The global economy is running a major infrastructure deficit as the cost of decades of under-investment is now surfacing,” said Benjamin Tal, the analyst who authored the study.

Canada, for example, has eliminated an enormous budget deficit left over from the 1980s, but built up an infrastructure deficit of $120 billion in the process.

Governments have come to realize that …

On New Years eve day, gold got sold off in the Far East a bit…and then the down trend accelerated through London trading, with the bottom being the London p.m. gold fix. From there…and to everyone’s surprise…the price took off to the upside with some real authority. True, there hadn’t been a lot of volume up until that point, but that changed from the London p.m. fix until the close of trading in New York. Silver’s chart was very similar, with the metal turning in an outstanding day as well. Gold put in an “outside day key reversal to the upside”…which is a very bullish technical indicator. The boyz have never…ever…allowed this technical indicator to work in gold…and have taken gold down the very next day to negate it.

The world’s gold market’s were closed on January 1st, but once early morning trading began on January 2nd in the Far East,

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