Russian mining and metallurgical giant Norilsk Nickel has announced that it is to spin off its non-core energy assets into a standalone company. The shares of the new independent player will be distributed on a proportional basis among Norilsk Nickel’s shareholders.
Only the company’s energy assets that are not engaged in power supply to its production [...]

The UK’s Drax Group, the operator of Britain’s largest coal-fired power plant, has halted purchases of South African and Russian coal from January 2008 in order to stay within the emission limits imposed from that date.

Matra’s wholly owned subsidiary “OOO” Arkhangelovskoe has signed a contract with locally based drilling contractor “OOO” OBK (Orenburg Drilling Company) for its rig 3D to drill the Sokolovskaya prospect on its exploration license.
Site construction and preparation works are due to begin shortly and the well is scheduled to spud in late July. The well is [...]

May exports of Russian steam coal via Estonia have been effectively halted because of a shortage of rail wagons, Russian coal exporters said.
Russian rail monopoly RzHD told exporters that they must use their own rail wagons, not RzHD’s, but it has not been possible with such short notice to find alternative wagons, exporters said.
“RzHD has [...]

The board of Russian coking coal miner Raspadskaya recommended a dividend of 1.94 roubles ($0.075) per share for 2006, Raspadskaya said on Friday.
“The board of directors recommended paying out 50 percent of net income in 2006,” a Raspadskaya statement said.
Raspadskaya, part-owned by steel maker Evraz Group , posted a 33 percent drop in net profit [...]

The production of oil, gas and coal increased in the first quarter in Russia, whilst electricity production fell back, the ministry for energy and natural resources said.
The production of oil and distilled gas increased by 4.2 pct to 121.14 mln tonnes in the first quarter.
The main producers are Lukoil, Rosneft, TNK-BP, Surgutneftegas and Gazprom Neft, [...]

Guinea, the world’s number one bauxite expor-ter, says it is with-drawing agreements made with a U.S. oil company and a Russian-managed bauxite producer as part of a planned review of minerals contracts.
The withdrawals were announced in a government statement read on state television Sunday.
They referred to a production-sharing contract with American oil company Hyperdynamics and [...]

SeaDragon Offshore, currently building the first of a number of planned 6th Generation (Deep Water/Harsh Environment semi-submersible) rigs, has placed a significant order with National Oilwell Varco (NOV) for Drilling Equipment Package, Subsea BOP Stack and Marine Riser equipment for its first vessel the Moss CS50 MkII–the “Oban B.”

Highlights:
SeaDragon is currently building one of the [...]

Russian regulators said Monday they had suspended operation at more than 30 mines as part of a check of safety standards that followed last month’s Siberian coal mine disaster that killed more than 100 people.
Industrial safety watchdog Rostekhnadzor said 33 coal mines had been suspended nationwide, including 29 in the coal-rich region in eastern Siberia [...]

A devastating gas explosion tore through a Siberian coal mine Monday, killing at least 78 miners, Russian officials said, as emergency workers raced to rescue dozens still trapped underground.
“The latest figures we have is 78 killed,” the Kemerovo regional administration’s spokesman Sergei Cheremnov said as quoted by the Interfax news agency.
Earlier, emergency ministry officials said [...]