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Shell Meets Iranians As Pressure Ups For Gas Deal

ROME (Dow Jones)--Royal Dutch Shell Group PLC (RDSB) met Iranian officials about a prospective natural gas project in the country, a top oil official said Monday, just as the Islamic republic said it hoped Shell and Total SA (TOT) would commit to multibillion dollar gas deals by June.

Eni CEO Certain Co Will Return To Iraq As Soon As Safe

MILAN (MF-Dow Jones)--Italian oil company Eni SpA (E) Chief Executive Paolo Scaroni said he is "certain" the company will return to doing business in Iraq as soon as safety conditions permit.

Iran Hopes To Sign Gas Deal With Total, Shell In June - Min

ROME (Dow Jones)--Iran's Oil Minister Gholam Hussein Nozari said Monday there was no deadline set for an accord be reached with Total SA (TOT) and Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) over the development of the country's vast natural gas South Pars development.

Russia to Turn Off Plutonium-Producing Reactor

Russia's state nuclear energy corporation was expected to switch off a nuclear reactor Sunday in a closed city in Siberia.

DJ Putin: Berlusconi Can Help Improve EU-Russia Relations - AFP

PORTO ROTONDO, Italy (AFP)--Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday he was counting on the support of Italy under his "friend" Silvio Berlusconi to improve Moscow's relations with the European Union.

Berlusconi, Putin Discuss Boosting Economic Ties

ROME (Dow Jones)--Italian Prime Minister-elect Silvio Berlusconi and Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday said they aimed to boost economic ties between their two countries, from energy deals to a possible cooperation between their two airlines.

Iran Diplomat: Sanctions Not Hurting;Asia Pacific Trade On Up

BERLIN (AP)--Germany's reduction in trade with Iran as part of Western sanctions isn't hurting the country as competitors from Asia step in to fill the gaps, an Iranian deputy foreign minister said Friday.

US Rice Says Concerned By Russia-Georgia Tensions - AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP)--US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday she was "very concerned" by tensions between Russia and Georgia, noting she had telephoned her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.

Gazprom Neft To Boost Crude Oil Output To 100M Tons A Year By 2020

Moscow to Forgive Libyan Debt

Russia agreed Thursday to write off $4.5 billion of Libya's Cold War-era debt in return for military and civilian contracts between the north African country and Russian companies, officials said.

Bush Climate Plan Under Fire

A U.S. plan to cap greenhouse gases by 2025 was dismissed Thursday as too little, too late by some delegates at 17-country climate talks in Paris while others welcomed it as a first firm U.S. emissions ceiling.

Heavier Rain, Lower Reserves

Rain but less water appears to be the future for water in Attica and Greece overall, according to the experts, as climate change and the concentration of human activities in urban centers have led to heavier rainfall and flooding due to a very large volume of water falling within a short period of time.

Biofuel: Solution or Problem?

The use of crops for biofuels and other factors have pushed up food prices across the globe as a recent report by the United Nations warned that up to 5 million people were at risk of being removed from their land to make way for crops for biofuel.