Korea will raise wholesale domestic city gas prices by an average of 4.9% in September and electricity prices by an average of 3.5% in August, the finance ministry said on Friday. The move will come as a relief to state-run utility companies which have been operating at a loss because of government controlled prices despite rising costs.

Gas production in the United Kingdom fell year on year by 14.3% to 694 TWh (64.5 Bcm) in 2009, with output from the UK continental shelf (UKCS) representing 69% of total gas supply, according to the government’s annual Digest of the United Kingdom Energy Statistics (DUKES).

Environmental approval for Shell’s Prelude floating liquefaction project in Australia has been deferred for a third time. The deadline for the decision had previously been delayed twice from the original target of April 30.

Essar Oil, Australia’s Arrow Energy and Great Eastern Energy will invest $158 million in a total of seven coal bed methane (CBM) blocks, for which contracts were signed with the government on Thursday. The seven blocks issued under India’s fourth CBM bidding round cover an area totalling 3,727 sq km and are estimated to hold CBM resources of around 330.23 Bcm.

Norwegian oil and gas producer Statoil has written down the value of its long-term capacity contract into the Cove Point, Maryland LNG import terminal, due to the increase in US gas production from shale gas reserves.

Spain’s Gas Natural Fenosa said its Italian subsidiary Gas Natural Distribuzione Italia (GNDI) is to invest €100 million ($130.8 million) jointly with Italian engineering company Bonatti in order to develop and manage the gas distribution system of 29 municipalities in the province of Salerno in southern Italy.

The Nord Stream pipeline has reached Russian landfall after a section of the pipeline was pulled onto shore at Portovaya Bay from the Castoro Sei pipe-laying vessel moored in the Gulf of Finland, the project consortium announced.

Thailand will sign a 30-year agreement with neighbouring Myanmar on Friday to purchase natural gas from the Zawtika field at offshore Block M9 in Myanmar from late 2013, Thailand’s energy minister Wannarat Charnnukul said on Thursday.