"It will pay in cash."
Russia's Gazprom will pay in cash for a stake in the Shell-led Sakhalin 2 project, the country's deputy industry and energy minister Andrei Dementyev said Wednesday, answering a question on how Gazprom would enter Sakhalin 2 project, Russia's Prime-Tass news agency reported.

"The stats inevitably will do something different and cause a big reaction."
Market players on Wednesday feel that the US statistics will spring a surprise figure that will unbalance the market. Analysts expect declining crude and products stocks for the week ended Dec 8, mainly due to the closure of the Houston Ship Channel several times last week.

Updated: 12/20/06