Energy Blast - Dec 22, 2009

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appealed for world powers to secure a legally binding climate deal next year following the failure of the Copenhagen summit. Gennady Timchenko, an acquaintance of Vladimir Putin, has received government permission to boost his investment fund's stake in Novatek, making him the gas producer's biggest shareholder.  A parliamentary commission wants the head of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydropower plant and five of its officials to be dismissed, blaming them for the August blast that killed 75 people.  Despite a terrible year for the oil market, its top five crude traders 'are set to reap bumper profits' this year.  Russia will resume Turkmen gas imports next year, but at volumes much smaller than those agreed in deals sealed prior to supply disputes.  According to Transneft, Russian interests may get a 50% share in the Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline linking Turkey's Black Sea and Mediterranean coasts.