pledge to meet again on January 30 to discuss whether further cuts are necessary. Saudi Arabia plans to decrease crude oil output by starting on January 1, 2005. (NYT, AP, WP) December 18: Yuganskneftegaz, the largest subsidiary of Yukos, is auctioned off to a previously unknown company called Baikal Finans Group (BFG) for a well-below-market value of $9.4 billion. The unit is being sold to help cover more than $27 billion in tax claims the Russian government says it is owed by Yukos over the last year—part of a broader campaign against the company and its founder, Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky. Under threat of having the government auction its largest oil asset, Yukos filed for bankruptcy in a U.S. court in Houston, Texas, earlier in the week. In response, many banks that were preparing to back Gazprom in its bid for the oil unit dropped their support. Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft buys all of BFG five days later. (WSJ, NYT) December 20: Exelon, the United States’ largest nuclear power producer agrees to buy New Jersey-based Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) for a reported $13.2 billion in stock, thus creating the largest utility in the United States. Pending some anticipated regulatory hurdles, the combined company will increase Exelon's generating capacity about 50% to around 52,000 megawatts (MW). (Reuters) December 26: The world's largest earthquake in 40 years triggers a devastating tsunami centered in the Indian Ocean affecting largely populated coastal areas of India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand. Almost 300,000 local residents and tourists are killed in the tsunami waves, yet damage to energy infrastructure is limited. Relief aid flows into the area from all over the world, increasing the value of local currencies. (NYT, WP, AP, Reuters) December 31: The Russian government gives its long-awaited final approval for the Eastern Siberia – Pacific Ocean oil pipeline to the Pacific port of Nakhodka that would allow for exports to Japan and the western United States. The decision to move ahead with the Nakhodka pipeline rules out a proposed line to Daqing, China; however some concessions to China are expected. State oil pipeline monopoly Transneft will build a capacity pipeline from Taishet in East Siberia to the Perevoznaya Bay in the Pacific Primorsk region. The government gives no firm timeframe for the project, but says final proposals should be made before May 2005. (Reuters) Sources Energy Information Administration: Chronology of World