Business news for Tue, 25 Dec 2007 & with word energy. 11 news.

OAO Gazprom, Russia's biggest company, is set to gain control of OAO OGK-6, the nation's third-largest power generator by capacity, after spending almost 21 billion rubles (US$850 million) on new shares. The natural-gas producer paid 3.8 rubles per share for 5.5 billion shares in Moscow-based OGK-6, which represents 46.6 percent of the new shares offered, the power company said yesterday in an e-mailed statement. OGK-6 is selling 11.9 billion new shares, the equivalent of a 44-percent post-equity stake. Gazprom, which completed the transaction via ZAO Gazenergoprom-Invest unit, had options on 51.8 percent of OGK-6 before the sale as part of a share-swap agreement with national utility OAO Unified Energy System. The state-controlled parent of OGK-6 allowed its minority shareholders to swap shares in units before being dismantled in July 2008, Bloomberg News said. Unified Energy's board approved on July 27 the share-swap plan, which will allow Gazprom to take control of a third of

KAZAKHSTAN is seeking to more than double its stake in the Eni SpA-led Kashagan oil project as compensation for delays and cost overruns. The Central Asian country's government is seeking to raise its stake to 16.8 percent, Dinara Shaimardanova, an aide to Energy Minister Sauat Mynbayev, told Bloomberg News by phone yesterday from the Kazakh capital, Astana. The state now holds 8.3 percent. The government has disputed a second delay to the start of production at Kashagan, the world's biggest oil discovery in 30 years, and an increase in costs that it says have more than doubled the price for developing and running the field to US$136 billion. Kazakhstan and the group of companies led by Eni extended talks on the dispute until January 15 as Exxon Mobil Corp opposes the increase of the Kazakh stake, Shaimardanova said on Monday. Eni, Exxon, Total SA and Royal Dutch Shell Plc all hold 18.5 percent of Kashagan, while ConocoPhillips has 9.3 percent. KazMunaiGaz National Co,

SANYO Electric Co, the Japanese electronics maker targeting its first profit in four years, may have its shares removed from the Tokyo Stock Exchange after misstating six years of financial results. The shares are on watch for possible delisting, the exchange said on its Website after Osaka-based Sanyo disclosed yesterday it understated losses from April 2000 to March 2006. Japan's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission recommended Sanyo be fined 8.3 million yen (US$72,650), Bloomberg News said. The misstatements may hamper recovery efforts by a company that had to be bailed out by creditors including Goldman Sachs Group Inc last year. Sanyo last month said it plans to invest 350 billion yen to focus on operations such as rechargeable batteries and cells that convert sunlight into energy. "Sanyo would have to further reorganize its business" if the shares become delisted, said Naoki Fujiwara, who helps oversee US$3.2 billion as chief fund manager at Shinkin

B.C.

Taiwan's First Nuclear Power Plant may have its license renewed after it expires, paving the way for the plant to operate 20 more years, the head of the Atomic Energy Council (AEC) said yesterday.

The energy bill President George W. Bush signed last week mandating tougher fuel-economy standards sent a simple message to automakers: lighten up.

Conestoga Energy officials said the largest ethanol plant yet built in Kansas started production Monday. The Arkalon Ethanol plant is a 110 million-gallon-per-year plant. Its capacity will be 50 million gallons greater than the Gateway Ethanol plant in Pratt, according to the Kansas Corporation Commission's most recent figures. Nick Hatcher, chairman of the Conestoga Energy board of directors, confirmed Monday that production had started at the plant. Conestoga Energy spokesman Dusty Turner has said the Arkalon plant could be producing as much as 300,000 gallons of ethanol per day within a month. The 150-acre site is about eight miles northeast of Liberal. The plant takes up about 40 acres.

TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Ampal-American Israel Corp., the Tel Aviv investment firm, took an option to acquire a 35% interest in a project to produce ethanol from sugarcane from a company controlled by Ampal's chairman, president and chief executive officer. Separately, that company, Merhav, agreed to sell 25% to 35% of the project to Ecopetrol SA of Colombia. Terms of both deals weren't disclosed. Ampal said the move will add to its interests in clean energy and in the broader energy industry. As part of the option deal, Ampal has loaned Merhav $10 million to buy 11,000 hectares (27,000 acres) in Colombia for growing sugarcane and to build the ethanol facility. And Ampal agreed to advance as much as $10 million more to fund the project, it said in a Tuesday statement. Yosef Maiman, who holds the top three posts at Ampal, is sole owner of Merhav. A panel made up of Ampal's independent directors approved the deal. Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin advised the board committeee, Ampal said.

TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- W&T Offshore Inc. agreed to acquire the interest it doesn't own in Ship Shoal 349 field, located offshore Louisiana and covering two federal lease blocks, for $116 million from Apache Corp. W&T and Apache, both Houston energy companies, expect to close the deal by April 30. W&T said in a Monday statement that it would finance the deal from cash on hand.

power from space!

OIL prices drifted higher in light holiday trading yesterday after predictions of a drop in crude inventories raised new supply concerns. With little other news to motivate buying or selling, investors focused on forecasts by analysts including Addison Armstrong, director of exchange traded markets at TFS Energy Futures LLC, who predicted crude inventories fell by 1.5 million barrels last week. Tim Evans, an analyst at Citigroup Inc, predicted that crude stocks fell by 2 million to 3 million barrels. The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration reports oil inventories on Thursday this week, a day late due to Christmas. Light, sweet crude for February delivery rose 82 cents to settle at US$94.13 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after falling as low as US$92.50 earlier. Prices rose more than US$2 on Friday after the government reported consumer spending jumped more than expected in November, raising hopes that the economy will weather the crisis roiling