UPI Energy Watch WASHINGTON, May 13 (UPI) -- OPEC leaders claim no control over oil prices; China quake cuts oil demand temporarily; Kazakhs threaten to sanction Agip

Oil and Gas Pipeline Watch By DANIEL GRAEBER UPI Correspondent GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., May 13 (UPI) -- Leaders from the European Union met with Middle Eastern officials in Brussels to finalize details of the Trans-Arab gas pipeline.

UPI Energy Watch WASHINGTON, May 12 (UPI) -- Oil, gas executives see sub-$100 prices by end of year; EnCana Corp. splits; Iran says South Stream projects will go ahead

Analysis: Turks eye carrying Kazakh oil By JOHN C.K. DALY UPI International Correspondent WASHINGTON, May 12 (UPI) -- As Kazakh oil exports continue to rise, Turkey is seeking to position itself as a major transit hub for Kazakh hydrocarbons. Despite Turkish aspirations, however, a number of obstacles exist to Kazakhstan diversifying its export routes to include Turkey.

Analysis: China faces tanker shortage By JOHN C.K. DALY UPI International Correspondent WASHINGTON , May 9 (UPI) -- China's rising energy demands will require Beijing to either build or lease ships to carry the oil needed for its industry. As domestic tanker production has failed to keep pace with rising demand, some Chinese maritime specialists see a shortage in carrying capacity for Chinese oil imports developing by 2015.

Analysis: Russia squeezes Mongolia By JOHN C.K. DALY UPI International Correspondent WASHINGTON, May 9 (UPI) -- Record-high energy prices are increasingly dominating Russia's trade relations with Mongolia. As Mongolia imports nearly all of its oil from Russia, the country is feeling pressure from sharp Russian price increases, and the government is seeking legislative changes to ameliorate the effect of the price increases on the population.

OPEC Chief: U.S. economy to blame for high oil prices By BEN LANDO UPI Energy Editor WASHINGTON, May 8 (UPI) -- Angry oil consumers taking aim at OPEC are looking at a "scapegoat" instead of a needed mirror, the head of the bloc of oil producers said during a visit to Washington Thursday.

UPI Energy Watch WASHINGTON, May 8 (UPI) -- Southern Sudan's oil revenues reach $3.2B in the last 3 years; Gazprom board orders creation of winter gas reserves; Russian oil exports to non-C.I.S. down

Analysis: Define 'renewable' By ROSALIE WESTENSKOW UPI Correspondent THE DALLES, Ore., May 8 (UPI) -- Crucial options were left out of last year's energy bill, advocacy groups say, and policymakers are looking to remedy the exclusion.

Nigeria oil rebels eye U.S. presidential race By CARMEN GENTILE UPI Energy Correspondent MIAMI, May 8 (UPI) -- Nigerian militants are calling for former U.S. President Carter to mediate talks between rebels and the government to end hostilities in the oil-rich Niger Delta and are weighing a reported cease-fire appeal by Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama.

UPI Energy Watch WASHINGTON, May 7 (UPI) -- Kazakhstan increases output; Surgutneftegaz net proceeds grow by 19 percent in 2007; China, Japan work to resolve East China Sea Resources issue

Experts ask if China has an energy policy By SIOBHAN DEVINE UPI Correspondent WASHINGTON, May 7 (UPI) -- Experts say China's government has less control over energy decisions than the nation's mammoth energy companies.

Lawmakers take another look at ethanol By ROSALIE WESTENSKOW UPI Correspondent THE DALLES, Ore., May 7 (UPI) -- Five months after passing a new alternative fuel mandate, U.S. policymakers are questioning the legislation's wisdom in the face of skyrocketing food prices.

Venezuela, China set to ink new oil deal By CARMEN GENTILE UPI Energy Correspondent MIAMI, May 7 (UPI) -- China is reportedly preparing to sign a new petroleum deal with Venezuela, this time pledging to invest $2 billion in Venezuela's oil industry.

Oil and Gas Pipeline Watch By BEN LANDO UPI Energy Editor WASHINGTON, May 6 (UPI) -- Europe ties Nabucco deals with Turkey and Arab gas, says Russia not involved; Iraq-Iran pipeline tender deadline extended to May 18; TransCanada keen on second Keystone line

UPI Energy Watch WASHINGTON, May 6 (UPI) -- Iraq Kurdistan region to export 100,000 barrels of oil per day; Turkmenistan attaches great importance to Nabucco project; Tajikistan asks major company to pay for Uzbek gas to avoid cutoff

Analysis: U.S. wind market's mixed signals By MEGAN HARRIS HANOVER, Germany, May 6 (UPI) -- The wind energy industry is beginning to repower existing turbines for greater efficiency and expanding to offshore locations in Europe, and despite unstable incentives for wind power in the United States, strong growth potential and the weak dollar are buoying interest in the U.S. market.

Analysis: Storage needs for nuclear growth By MEGAN HARRIS HANOVER, Germany, May 6 (UPI) -- Expanding nuclear power to meet growing energy demand worldwide may be hindered by the lack of repositories for spent nuclear fuel, but planned national underground repositories in some countries and interim storage options could sustain nuclear energy's rapid growth in the short term.

Analysis: TAP pipeline reality or romance? By JOHN C.K. DALY UPI International Correspondent WASHINGTON, May 6 (UPI) -- TAP's promises of riches trump geography and politics as it would pass through some of the world's most forbidding places en route to India.

UPI Energy Watch WASHINGTON, May 5 (UPI) -- Geopolitics keeps oil prices high; Shell, Repsol may pull away from Iran deals; Oil demand growth spurs safety need

Analysis: Can airplanes go green? By ROSALIE WESTENSKOW UPI Correspondent CHICAGO, May 5 (UPI) -- Alternative fuels for cars and trucks are becoming increasingly viable, but there's another area of the transportation sector where they haven't quite taken off: aviation.

UPI Energy Watch WASHINGTON, May 2 (UPI) -- Estonian, Lithuanian hold energy security talks; Armenia to refine Iranian oil; Japanese banks to increase efforts to attract Middle East oil money

Analysis: Bio-based products cut emissions By ROSALIE WESTENSKOW UPI Correspondent CHICAGO, May 2 (UPI) -- Bio-based materials have been in the limelight lately because of their potential as low-emissions fuels, but their ability to cut CO2 emissions extends beyond the transportation sector, experts say.

New crops change food vs. fuel debate By ROSALIE WESTENSKOW UPI Correspondent CHICAGO, May 2 (UPI) -- As oil prices rise and food-based ethanol appears increasingly unsustainable, companies are scrambling to find new energy crops for the next generation of biofuels.

UPI Energy Watch WASHINGTON, May 1 (UPI) -- Macedonia to decide on tender for power plants construction

Foreign companies oppose use of corn for ethanol By ROSALIE WESTENSKOW UPI Correspondent CHICAGO, May 1 (UPI) -- Concern over ethanol's contribution to increasing food prices, among other things, has shifted research away from corn and into new alternatives.

ExxonMobil, Nigerian workers fail to resolve impasse By CARMEN GENTILE UPI Energy Correspondent MIAMI, May 1 (UPI) -- Talks between Nigeria's leading petroleum workers' union and officials with ExxonMobil failed Wednesday to end a seven-day strike.

Analysis: Peru, India cultivate oil ties By CARMEN GENTILE UPI Energy Correspondent MIAMI, April 30 (UPI) -- India's Reliance India Ltd. is reportedly preparing to buy a stake in a major Peruvian oil block, marking yet another foray into developing markets in Latin America for the Indian energy giant.

UPI Energy Watch WASHINGTON, April 30 (UPI) -- LUKoil to switch to production of Euro-4 gasoline by 2012; India, Iran, Pakistan to finalize pipeline deal; Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline to raise Europe's security

U.S. auditors of Iraq reconstruction see potential and roadblocks By BEN LANDO UPI Energy Editor WASHINGTON, April 30 (UPI) -- Higher exports and oil prices are bringing in record revenue for Iraq, but the lack of institutional capacity to spend it on capital projects is preventing further development of the oil and gas sector, according to a report by the U.S. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.

Analysis: Algae emerges as new fuel source By ROSALIE WESTENSKOW UPI Correspondent CHICAGO, April 30 (UPI) -- As climate change and rising oil prices intensify the search for alternative energy sources, researchers are on the brink of commercializing algae for fuel, experts say.

Analysis: Azeris seize Iran nuke material By JOHN C.K. DALY UPI International Correspondent WASHINGTON, April 29 (UPI) -- Amid increasingly rancorous U.S.-Iranian relations over Tehran's nuclear energy program, the U.N. sanctions regime scored a small victory March 29 when Azerbaijan's customs and frontier officials detained a Russian cargo bound for Iran's Bushehr nuclear facility.

UPI Energy Watch WASHINGTON, April 29 (UPI) -- Jordan stops oil imports from Iraq; Russian, Italian firms agree to set up strategic partnership; Ukraine weighs tax-free oil supplies to its refineries

Oil and Gas Pipeline Watch By BEN LANDO UPI Energy Editor WASHINGTON, April 28 (UPI) -- Iran, Pakistan ready IPI deal with India calling for supply guarantee; GAIL in for TAPI pipeline; Prodi won't head South Stream; Scotland refinery strike forces BP to fully shut North Sea pipeline system

Outside View: Work on Chernobyl continues By TATYANA SINITSYNA UPI Outside View Commentator MOSCOW, April 28 (UPI) -- The Chernobyl nuclear power plant must have a new confinement shelter for its 4th reactor, which exploded on April 26, 1986. The old shelter was built hastily, in emergency conditions when robots went mad but people continued to work. It sufficed in the short term, but time and severe weather conditions have weakened it. The new confinement will be safe for 100 years.

UPI Energy Watch WASHINGTON, April 28 (UPI) -- Shutdowns spur higher fuel costs; Kenya could see fuel reserves; Nigeria unrest keeps prices high

Analysis: Turkmenistan opens up By JOHN C.K. DALY UPI International Correspondent WASHINGTON, April 28 (UPI) -- Of all the post-Soviet Caspian nations, Western investors since 1991 looked most longingly at Turkmenistan, which was essentially unavailable during the reign of Saparmurat Niyazov.

UPI Energy Watch WASHINGTON, April 25 (UPI) -- Turkey courts German firms; Japanese energy firms not overactive on oil supply route from Russia; Gazprom, Qatar Petroleum mull joint projects

Outside View: Iran's nuclear fuel stalled By TATYANA SINITSYNA UPI Outside View Commentator MOSCOW, April 25 (UPI) -- Azerbaijani customs officials have been keeping a single Russian trailer -- which they describe as a truck convoy -- carrying absolutely safe heat-insulating equipment for Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant at the Astara checkpoint on the Azerbaijani-Iranian border since March 29.

Outside View: Baltic nuke plant criticized By TATYANA SINITSYNA UPI Outside View Commentator MOSCOW, April 25 (UPI) -- Russian plans to build a nuclear power plant in the Kaliningrad Region have provoked protests from Europeans concerned about environmental and radiological safety.

Congress wants Iraq to repay U.S. expenses By BEN LANDO UPI Energy Editor WASHINGTON, April 24 (UPI) -- Iraqis would be forced to pay for U.S. efforts in their country directly or via loans from the United States if any of at least five similar pieces of legislation introduced on Capitol Hill this month is approved.

Analysis: Energy's water demands worrisome By ROSALIE WESTENSKOW UPI Correspondent THE DALLES, Ore., April 24 (UPI) -- Add another requirement to the clean-energy checklist: low water usage.

Nigeria's oil industry appears fragile amid attacks By CARMEN GENTILE UPI Energy Correspondent MIAMI, April 24 (UPI) -- Violent attacks on oil installations have increased in recent weeks, raising concerns that Nigeria's militants are aiming to make good on a promise to cripple the country's petroleum industry.

UPI Energy Watch WASHINGTON, April 24 (UPI) -- Gazprom, Vietnam hold oil, gas talks; Gazprom board approves European gas prices for C.I.S., Baltic States; Sakhalin-2 to begin first LNG supplies in early 2009

Outside View: Russia-Armenia uranium pact By SERGEI GOLUBCHIKOV UPI Outside View Commentator MOSCOW, April 23 (UPI) -- Russia and Armenia signed a treaty Tuesday in Yerevan to set up a joint venture for the exploration and mining of uranium and other minerals in Armenia. A joint company is being established on parity lines and will be registered within the next three months.

UPI Energy Watch WASHINGTON, April 23 (UPI) -- Estonia, U.S. to research oil shale; Iran courts Gazprom for deal on deposits; Romania, Serbia, Croatia ink deal on oil pipeline

Analysis: Venezuela, Iran bolster ties By CARMEN GENTILE UPI Energy Correspondent MIAMI, April 23 (UPI) -- Energy officials from Iran said they were ready to make good on promises to bolster energy ties with Venezuela by establishing a joint Tehran-Caracas oil company, a concept considered far-fetched by some considering the rash of projects proposed by the two nations that have yet to come to fruition.

UPI Energy Watch WASHINGTON, April 22 (UPI) -- Iran warns Shell over commitment to gas project; Scottish government rejects wind farm project; Italy's ENI eyes Iraq oil sector

Analysis: EU and Central Asian gas By JOHN C.K. DALY UPI International Correspondent WASHINGTON, April 22 (UPI) -- The European Union, gazing hungrily at Central Asia's vast oil and natural gas deposits, has long sought to weaken Russia's grip over Caspian exports. Now the EU has succeeded in getting its nose under the Turkmen tent, and in Moscow Gazprom Chief Executive Officer Alexei Miller must be drowning his sorrows, as Russia provides about 40 percent of the EU's natural gas imports.

Analysis: Oil and Gas Pipeline Watch By BEN LANDO UPI Energy Editor WASHINGTON, April 21 (UPI) -- Asian Development Bank willing to finance TAPI gas line; Iran wants movement on IPI pipeline; Nabucco only with Iran, Russian ambassador says; BP, Conoco execs in Washington to rally Alaskan support for gas line