Blogger's Note: I can believe that President Bush is too stupid to be focusing on solar energy, but c'mon guys, you ought to realize that the smart thing to do is to stop fighting over oil and develop solar capabilities. IF YOU TAKE AWAY THEIR TRUMP CARD THEY LOSE THEIR POWER OVER YOU!!!
This is not rocket science!
Gazprom tells Eni Ukraine dispute may hit supplies
Sat Dec 31, 6:14 AM ET
Gazprom has told Eni that gas supplies could be at risk because of its ongoing dispute with Ukraine over prices, a spokesman for the Italian oil and gas firm said on Saturday, confirming newspaper reports.
Il Sole 24 Ore and Corriere della Sera newspapers said in Saturday editions that Russian gas giant Gazprom had sent a letter to Eni warning of possible problems with supplies.
"I can confirm that Eni has received such a letter from the managing director of Gazprom," an Eni spokesman said.
Gazprom is in dispute with Ukraine over a surprise hike in prices and on Friday spurned a plea from the ex-Soviet state to freeze charges as a New Year deadline for a deal approaches.
Gazprom has said it will cut off all supplies to Ukraine from 0700 GMT on Sunday unless its neighbor agrees to a four-fold leap in prices.
A quarter of Europe's gas needs come from Russia and nearly all of that is piped across Ukrainian territory.
Russia provides around 29 percent of Eni's total gas supplies which were some 77 billion cubic meters in 2004, according to Eni's 2004 accounts.
The European Union has already called for a meeting of energy officials on January 4 to discuss the potential problem.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has asked for further talks with Russia aiming to sign a contract by January 10.
Copyright © 2005 Reuters Limited.
