Five southeastern European countries have agreed to start work on a 1,400-kilometer Pan-European Oil Pipeline (PEOP), estimated to cost between $2 billion and $3.5 billion. The pipeline would connect Romania's Black Sea port of Constanta with Trieste in Italy.

Oil prices continued to soar on Friday as the political standoff between Britain and Iran over the detainment of 15 marines and sailors hardened, raising fears of interruptions to the oil supply through Iran.

Russia's state-owned oil firm Rosneft says it wants to acquire nearly all of the bankrupt Yukos Oil Company's production assets, as the Kremlin pushes to expand its control over the country's oil and natural gas riches.

Austral Pacific Energy Ltd.is pleased to announce that a non binding Memorandum Of Understanding with Alcan South Pacific has been concluded with its wholly owned subsidiary Austral Pacific Energy Limited.

On March 19 Presidents Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and Robert Kocharian of Armenia inaugurated the operations of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline (Armenpress, IRNA, March 19, 20). Although the project's scope is modest in terms of volume and market potential, its commissioning reflects two incipient trends of Eurasia-wide and potentially global impact, in some ways as their harbinger.

Speculation over the possible formation of a "gas OPEC" is on the rise as a meeting of top gas-exporting countries approaches. The Russian daily "Kommersant" reported on March 19 that an agreement on forming such a cartel was reached last week. The consortium reportedly will initially include Russia, Iran, Qatar, Venezuela, and Algeria -- which together account for nearly 70 percent of the world's reserves of natural gas.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Armenian counterpart on Monday formally opened the first Armenian section of a natural gas pipeline linking the two countries.

The European Union craves energy, but not to the extent that it wants to see members break rank to secure it. And that is exactly what Hungary is being accused of doing.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and president of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, officially inaugurated a newly constructed pipeline that will transfer Iranian natural gas to Armenia.