Putin plan to shut out US oil giants

Hawkeye predicted this two and one half years ago, and this is not even the first shot across the bow.

Putin will not be alone. The world is going to put the economic pinch on the US of A and all the Freepers will see what has been so apparent to the rest of us. Your Mighty Bush, is the Anti-Christ's dupe.


The Observer Business Putin plan to shut out US oil giants:

President Vladimir Putin is set to keep US oil companies out of a lucrative gas field in the latest sign of the deteriorating relationship between Moscow and Washington.

The Russian leader is expected to favour Norwegian companies and reject bids by America's Chevron and ConocoPhillips after failing to secure backing from the United States for his country's attempt to join the World Trade Organisation.

The tit-for-tat snub will be a blow to US companies scrambling for access to Russia's huge gas reserves at a time of high energy prices. It comes after Putin failed to resolve differences with US President George Bush over trade and human rights at the G8 conference in St Petersburg last week.

The two leaders were barbed about each other's democratic records at a tense G8 press conference. Putin later publicly praised Norsk Hydro and Statoil, the Norwegian firms that are competing with US companies for a role in developing the highly prized Shtokman gas field.