Oil production is up at LukOil May 18, 2009 RUSSIAN oil producer LukOil said yesterday its oil production hit 1.9m barrels per day for the first quarter, up 3.2 per cent from the same period last year. The news comes as the firm will have an opportunity to renew its contract for the West Qurna-2 oil field in southern Iraq, according to Ali Hussein [...]
OMV and MOL in Iraqi fuel deal May 17, 2009 Two European energy companies helping build a pipeline which will cut the continent’s dependence on Russian gas said yesterday they will team up with Mideast producers to feed the route with Iraqi fuel. In a consortium announced in the United Arab Emirates, Austria’s OMV AG and Hungary’s MOL Nyrt said they will each take a [...]
LDV restart expected by July May 17, 2009 Rescued van maker LDV will restart production by July, it emerged yesterday, once its takeover deal is finalised. Malaysia’s Weststar agreed to buy the Birmingham-based company earlier this month. The UK government is providing a £5m four-week bridging loan, which will allow Malaysia to secure the funds it needs for a takeover. The government had [...]
NOW SHOWING FIVE OF THE BEST May 14, 2009 FILM: Let the Right One In: Swedish film-maker Tomas Alfredson weaves friendship, rejection and loyalty into a disturbing vampire movie that’s one of the stand-out movies of 2009. OPERA: Peter Grimes at the ENO: Premiered in 1945, Britten’s masterpiece concerns an anti-hero outsider in a fishing village. An eagerly awaited new production by David Alden. [...]
Russian plots Lloyd’s entry via Chaucer May 14, 2009 RUSSIAN billionaire Alex Knaster unveiled plans to buy his way into the Lloyd’s of London insurance market yesterday, saying he is interested in taking a 29.9 per cent stake in Chaucer Holdings. Chaucer chief executive Ewen Gilmour confirmed the interest and ongoing takeover discussions, from Knaster’s private equity firm Pamplona Capital, in an official statement [...]
Dispute ends as BP loses its man in Russia September 5, 2008 The Long-running dispute between BP and its Russian partners at joint venture TNK-BP drew to a close yesterday, after the two signed a deal which paves the way for floating up to 20 per cent of the company. But the embattled chief executive Bob Dudley, who was chosen by BP, will get the chop – [...]
From Putin to Pitt: a fascinating glimpse into the mind of America September 4, 2008 Vanity Fair’s power list says a lot about the country that produced it, says Jeremy Hazlehurst You will, no doubt, remember that famous New Yorker magazine cover from the 70s that showed The World From Ninth Avenue. It shows Ninth Avenue in the foreground, 10th Avenue behind it, then the Hudson River. Behind this, in [...]
UK asks NATO to get tough with Russia August 28, 2008 British Foreign Secretary David Miliband yesterday called on the EU and NATO to initiate “hard-headed engagement” with Russia in response to its actions in Georgia. Speaking in Ukraine’s capital, Kiev, he said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had a big responsibility not to start a new Cold War. “Russia has not reconciled itself to the new [...]
Russian star Roman says: ‘I’m on my way to Spurs’ August 27, 2008 Pavlyuchenko heads to Tottenham as Berbatov’s United move looks back on Russian striker Roman Pavlyuchenko insisted he was on his way to Tottenham last night in a deal which would almost certainly bring an end to Dimitar Berbatov’s future at the club. Pavlyuchenko, a long-term target of Spurs boss Juande Ramos, told UEFA’s website he [...]
Second top executive quits troubled TNK-BP venture August 26, 2008 Russia’s third-largest oil producer TNK-BP has announced the departure of the second senior executive this month, further fuelling the crisis that has engulfed the firm. Executive vice president Tony Considine resigned yesterday after five years heading the refining, trading and marketing businesses at BP’s joint Russian venture. Considine cited personal reasons for the departure adding [...]