Energy Blast - August 11, 2009

Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin has said there is no immediate necessity for Russia to extend a loan to Ukraine to ensure its buying of natural gas.  In a highly critical open letter to Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, Dmitry Medvedev has accused Ukraine of endangering gas supplies to Europe and destabilizing relations with Russia: 'we have an impression that Kiev consistently seeks to break traditional economic ties with Russia, firstly in the energy sector'.  Hungary's largest oil refiner Mol will set up a joint venture with Gazprom this year to build a natural-gas storage facility in Hungary, in which both companies will have equal stakes.  The Times reports that Al Gore and Mikhail Gorbachev are in direct competition over who will control the new 'green' internet domain .eco. Former US Vice President Gore has pledged his support to an alliance called Dot Eco, while Gorbachev is indirectly linked to Big Room, a Canadian alliance, via his own climate change awareness charity Green Cross International.