The new CEO of TNK-BP will apparently be chosen by the end of the year, energy mogul Viktor Vekselberg has announced.  The Telegraph examines Total chief Christophe de Margerie's belief that oil prices may rocket back up to the $100 mark if further investment into oil exploration is not followed through.  According to Bloomberg, state-run monopoly Saudi Aramco says that it imagines little chance of pumping crude from idle fields in 2010 because demand for oil remains low.  Ukraine will offer 'absolute and unconditional guarantees' to restructure the debt of Naftogaz Ukrainy.  Greece is cooperating with Russia in the construction of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline and South Stream gas line, but with a predominant concern for its own interests, says Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, according to ITAR-TASS.   37 tenders for the Shtokman gas field ...

According to Bloomberg, although Russian oil production increased this year, defying forecasts, it will inevitably decrease due to the slump in investment when crude prices dropped.  Novatek has reported a 1.6% increase in net profit in the second quarter of 2009, year-on-year, exceeding analysts' expectations of the profitability of Russia's second largest gas producer.  To learn some facts about Iran's current energy partners, look here.  Exxon Mobil Corp and PetroChina have reached a $41 billion agreement on liquefied natural gas, apparently representing Australia and China's biggest trade contract to date.  The deal for 2.25 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas every year will come from ExxonMobil's 25% stake in the field, in which Chevron has a 50% stake and Shell the remaining 25%.  Managing to overcome diplomatic tensions regarding Rio Tinto to seal the deal has ...

Vladimir Putin has rejected the 15-year old international Energy Charter Treaty.  According to the Prime Minister, Turkey and Russia 'agreed on everything' regarding South Stream at their energy deal meeting and added, 'it is obvious there is demand' for the pipeline.  Italian President Berlusconi was also present at the talks.  In return for South Stream, Russia has agreed to be involved in building a pipeline across the Anatolian Peninsula and reasserted a commitment to expand an existing Black Sea gas pipeline.  Is it a high price to pay? wonders the FT, a 'confirmation that when vital interests are at stake, there are no friends, only partners'.  Tim Summers, the most senior former BP manager at oil firm TNK-BP has decided to step down, to be replaced by the head of BP Azerbaijan, Bill Schrader.  Lukoil has reportedly ...

TIME magazine has published a very interesting profile of Alexander Lebedev and his quest to reform Russia.  Robert Amsterdam is quoted in the excerpt below.What is not simple is Russia. That quintessentially Russian query -- What is to be done? -- continues to bedevil the Kremlin. The country is, after all, falling apart. The price of oil is down sharply from its high of $147 a barrel in July 2008. The markets have been badly shaken by Putin's attack on steel giant Mechel, the breakup of the oil conglomerate TNK-BP (during which the Russians none-so-subtly squeezed out their British partners), and last summer's war with Georgia. And then, of course, there's the global financial crisis, which has hit Russia particularly hard. On top of all ...

Rosatom has sealed the deal to supply the US with uranium fuel, which represents the first commercial energy contract between Russia and US companies.  As the appeal of renewable energy suffers, Russia is apparently hoping to establish itself as a leader in the nuclear market, with the help of 'global alliances'.  Gazprom Neft has extended its purchasing of shares in Sibir Energy to a full takeover offer, representing the state's first extension towards controlling the assets of debt-struck oligarchs.  'How long is the Kremlin prepared to tolerate Gazprom's massive waste of resources?' - is the troubled company treading on thin ice? wonders a commentator in the Moscow Times.  The battle for the position of CEO at TNK-BP hots up again as the consortium of four Russian billionaires behind Alfa-Access-Renova may suggest Maxim Barsky as a rival ...

Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko has said that Russia's gas output may fall by 18-20% this year.  Shmatko has adopted a more reassuring tone than his counterparts on the supply of gas to Europe, saying 'there are all the necessary reasons to see stable supplies . . . The problems of January 2009 will not be repeated'.  BP has said that it will nominate Pavel Skitovich, a former envoy to Uganda and Polyus CEO, for the post of CEO at TNK-BP, an appointment which should end the standoff between shareholders that has marred the company's fortunes of late.  This week Russia is expected to sign a deal to supply the US with low-enriched uranium.  Gazprom Neft is moving a step closer to a takeover of Sibir Energy as it increases its stake, making a cash offer for ...

At the EU summit Russia warned that it will not extend any loans to Ukraine and refused to offer guarantees that gas supplies would not be interrupted.  President Viktor Yushchenko has said that the agreement Ukraine and Russia came to in January 'fails to meet the economic policy basics'.  Putin says Russia will not accept Ukraine's proposal to postpone gas storage payments in exchange for future transit fees. Gazprom Neft is seeking a bigger stake in Sibir Energy - up to 30%.  Rumors abound that the company may purchase an additional stake to give it a controlling interest.  A special committee has been created to deal with the issue of gas supplies to eastern Europe in the 1990s, as Gazprom claims it is owed money as part of a deal which saw it exchange gas for ...

BP has finally agreed to a peace deal with its Russian partners over the future of their joint venture, TNK-BP. The oil firm announced yesterday that embattled chief executive Robert Dudley will leave TNK-BP by the end of the year, as part of an agreement hammered out with the four Russian billionaires who also own the business. Not surprisingly, the deal appeared to have been closely coordinated with the Kremlin. It follows an unprecedented campaign by state agencies against TNK-BP that prompted Dudley to flee Russia, citing harassment. Serbian government officials earlier today insisted that an energy deal with Russia is of the utmost national interest, but the opposition Liberals described it as humiliating. Well, it's not humiliating yet...

RusAl is urging City institutions to back it in its attempts to replace and increase Norilsk Nickel’s board. Russian shareholder group AAR is expected to press for a secondary listing of shares in TNK-BP, allowing TNK-BP to raise fresh capital and diluting the current shareholders’ control of the business. Three miners have died in an accident at a Siberian coal mine owned by Evraz Group. Egypt has agreed to supply Lebanon with electricity and natural gas. Gazprom has launched syndication of a $500 million, five-year loan.