Russian authorities have issued a summons to Robert Dudley, Chief Executive of BP PLC’s (ADR: BP) regional joint venture TNK-BP Holding, as part of a tax probe into OAO TNK’s activities between 2001 and 2003.

Early this week, we introduced the idea of buying the ABCs – Australia, Brazil, and Canada – as a way to own commodities for the long term. Several DailyWealth readers wrote to ask, “Great… but what about Russia?”

The relationship between BP and the shareholders in its Russian joint venture, TNK-BP, Russia’s third largest oil firm, has very publicly fallen apart, reports Britain’s The Guardian newspaper:

Yesterday BP and the Russian shareholders were forced to acknowledge differences over strategy, with the Russian billionaires who own 50% of the company arguing that TNK-BP, Russia’s third-largest oil producer, should be able to expand abroad even if that meant its coming into direct competition with BP itself.

Rotten, no-good Members-of-Congress. In America, the Senators haul oil executives in front of Congress to insult and belittle them.

The IEA forecast for a daily increase in global oil production of 31 million barrels by 2030—a 37% jump—sounds like pure fantasy. Do the facts support it? Are big oil companies already searching for that future oil and finding it? Do they have plans to produce it?

High gas prices continue to affect American motorists, staying at record highs for the 13th day in a row, according to the AAA.

CNN reports that US gas prices have now risen for 14 straight days.

According to the report: “For the first time since 2002, Americans plan to drive less on the holiday weekend than they did the year before, with high gasoline prices in a weak economy a prime reason.”

Gazprom is the world’s largest natural gas company. It holds 17% of the world’s total, and 60% of Russia’s. It also controls the trunk lines throughout Russia as well as most production, transmission, processing and marketing.

Earlier this week, Andrew Mickey explained how the time has finally come round for the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market. Today, Chris DeHaemer of Crisis Trader further explains why the world is worried.

The long-term bullish case for oil services is a no-brainer. Here’s why…

What if I told you Shell, BP, Exxon Mobil, BHP Billiton, Chevron and ConocoPhillips have committed more than $100 billion into a new source of energy? You’d definitely want to get involved in the early stages, right?